North Koreans Stole $1.34bn In Crypto This Year

Matthew Broersma,
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North Korea-liked hackers have stolen a record $1.34bn in cryptocurrency so far this year, as Bitcoin hits record prices

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Hackers linked to the North Korean state have stolen $1.34 billion (£1.07bn) in cryptocurrency so far this year, their highest amount to date and more than double the amount stolen last year.

Hacks by North Korea accounted for more than half the $2.2bn total of all cryptocurrency hacks, according to new figures from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

Some of the hacks appear to be linked to North Koreans posing as remote IT workers to funnel income to their government while also infiltrating cryptocurrency and other tech companies, the study found.

North Korea-linked hacks totalled 47 this year so far, some two thirds of the total number of crypto hacks.

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Weapons funding

The country uses the funds obtained by its army of highly trained hackers to fund its ballistic missile and nuclear programme, according to officials.

The US has estimated that as much as one-third of North Korea’s missile programme is funded by hacking activity.

“North Korea has long sought to evade international sanctions to support its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles programmes,” said Chainalysis head of national security Andrew Fierman.

“Historically, North Korea has done so through a variety of techniques, including evasive shipping tactics, overseas workers and the use of shell companies. Stealing cryptocurrency has become another mechanism in their toolkit to fund the regime.”

The hacks include a theft of 4,500 Bitcoin worth $305m from Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin in May.

Chainalysis tracked the stolen funds through intermediaries until they finally arrived at a Cambodian exchange linked to a conglomerate called Huione Group that it said has previously been linked to facilitating cyber-crime.

Russian support

The price of Bitcoin has more than doubled this year and rose above $100,000 following the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, in the expectation he will introduce crypto-friendly policies.

The overall amount of cryptocurrency stolen this year rose 21 percent on last year, with the number of hacks at an all-time high of 303, but the amount stolen still below the levels of 2021 and 2022.

Chainalysis found North Korea’s hacking activity slowed significantly in the second half of the year after the country signed a strategic partnership in June.

Chainalysis’ Fierman said North Korea may be receiving more financial support from Russia, making it less dependent on cyber-crime.

Since the agreement was signed in June the average daily crypto loss attributed to North Korea-liked hackers has halved, while other losses have risen slightly.

Last week a US federal court in St Louis indicted 14 North Koreans for alleged roles in a scheme that used fully remote IT workers to send $88m back to North Korea to fund its weapons programme.