North Korean Hackers Account for a Third of All Crypto Theft in 2023: TRM Labs Report
Summary:
In 2023, North Korean hackers were responsible for stealing $700 million out of all crypto assets hacked, with $600 million confirmed, as per the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. Since 2017, they have stolen approximately $3 billion in cryptocurrency. Despite sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department on suspected individuals and hacking groups, DPRK continues to explore alternative money laundering tools. CertiK reported that 2023 saw about 751 security breaches, causing $1.8 billion loss in crypto assets, the Ethereum network suffering the most losses.
Blockchain investigation company TRM Labs has stated that groups linked to North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), were behind approximately one-third of all cryptocurrency thefts through hacking incidents in 2023. A report released by the firm on January 5th indicated that hacker groups from North Korea possibly pilfered as much as $700 million in cryptocurrency that year, with $600 million of this figure confirmed by their research. From 2017 onwards, such hackers have filched approximately $3 billion in digital currency. This indicates a significant escalation in the DPRK’s involvement in cyberattacks on digital assets over the past year.
TRM Labs further revealed that North Korean money laundering techniques are persistently changing to elude the efforts of international law enforcement agencies. According to research findings, these hackers almost always breach users' private encryption keys or recovery phrases, shift the stolen funds to wallets controlled by DPRK, and then exchange these assets for Tether (USDT) or Tron. The blockchain investigation company warned that, despite significant improvements in the cybersecurity measures employed by cryptocurrency exchanges, and increased international cooperation in tracing and retrieving stolen funds, the nefarious cyber activities of North Korea are likely to continue causing turmoil in 2024.
In response to these hacking incidents, the U.S Treasury Department has levied economic sanctions on certain individuals and hacking collectives believed to be associated with North Korea. This includes the notorious Lazarus group. Despite these measures, and sanctions imposed on cryptocurrency tumblers like Tornado Cash and Sinbad, TRM Labs states that North Korea continues to probe alternative money laundering tools.
On the other hand, cybersecurity outfit CertiK reported on January 3rd that there were approximately 751 security breaches during 2023, leading to a loss of over $1.8 billion in crypto assets. DPRK-linked hackers are suspected to be behind a third of these incidents. The Ethereum network reported the highest losses, amounting to $686 million in 224 separate events.
American authorities have consistently identified digital assets as a key motivator behind economic sanctions imposed on entities like terrorist organization Hamas, following their attack on Israel on October 7th. Cryptocurrency mixers are under particular scrutiny from legislators, who assert that this technology is predominantly utilized for unlawful purposes.
Published At
1/5/2024 7:31:12 PM
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