UN Investigates North Korean Hacking Groups Over $3 Billion Crypto Haul
Summary:
The United Nations is investigating North Korean-linked hacking groups suspected of targeting 58 cryptocurrency companies from 2017 to 2023, accumulating about $3 billion to support weapons development. Blockchain research firms estimate losses of $1.7 billion in 2022 and $1 billion in 2023 due to cyber-attacks by North Korean hackers. Forecasts suggest further damage in 2024 due to the advancement of hacking techniques. Warnings have also been issued about the misuse of cryptocurrency in illicit economies in East and Southeast Asia.
Reports have emerged suggesting that the United Nations (UN) is conducting an inquiry into hacking collectives linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). These groups are believed to have executed cyberattacks on cryptocurrency businesses for over half a decade, accumulating around $3 billion in wealth. Unpublished documents from the UN, referenced in a Reuters article, reveal that an independent sanction committee is supervising the examination of these DPRK-associated hackers. The groups are alleged to have targeted 58 entities associated with cryptocurrency to support their development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) from 2017 to 2023.
Hacking groups connected to the DPRK have previously come under suspicion for purportedly causing significant losses in the world of cryptocurrency through their hacking activities. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis calculated in 2023 that around $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency was pilfered by these groups throughout 20 separate incidents within a single year. This figure represented a considerable reduction from the previous year, when North Korean linked hacker attacks were responsible for $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency losses across 15 separate events.
TRM Labs, a blockchain research company, is forecasting greater damage in 2024 caused by cyberattack collectives, due to advancements in their attack techniques. The company warned that these improvements, along with increasing global efforts to track and recover misappropriated funds, makes it likely that there be more turmoil caused by these notorious digital outlaws.
In related news, a recent warning about the misuse of cryptocurrency in illicit economies of East and Southeast Asia was issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The rise of illicit casinos with loose regulations and romance scams nicknamed "pig-butchering" have been significantly increasing in the Mekong Region.
Published At
2/10/2024 5:02:42 AM
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