According to a recent analysis, the Pyongyang-led cybercrime organization – the Lazarus Group – uses advanced techniques to steal and launder cryptocurrencies. The report cautions that the gang has shown “remarkable adaptations to evolving regulation”.
North Korea and Crypto
While China and Russia have traditionally attracted the attention of most democratic governments concerned with cyber security, totalitarian North Korea is slowly emerging as a leader in such attacks.
In its most recent report, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) warned about a Pyongyang-led cybercrime organization known as the Lazarus Group. The analysis states that the latter has morphed from “a rogue team of hackers to a skilled army of cybercriminals and foreign collaborators” stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto.
CNAS recalled that the infamous organization had swiped nearly $300 million worth of digital assets from Singapore-based exchange KuCoin in 2020. The US think tank also pointed to the “sophisticated” hacking techniques deployed by the gang:
“This major intrusion involves a number of sophisticated hacking and laundering techniques, including a professional mixing service and the use of the new DeFi platform in an attempt to disrupt the activity.”
However, the Lazarus Group did not sufficiently mix the stolen assets, making it relatively easy for law enforcement to trace the attack:
“Although the hackers used different bitcoin addresses to transfer the stolen funds, they combined them into a handful of groups, making it easy to link their ownership to a single origin.”
According to another analysis conducted by Chainalysis, North Korean cybercriminals stole around $400 million worth of crypto in 2021 alone. Bad actors have amassed funds after attacking digital asset exchanges and investment firms.
Bitcoin accounted for 20% of the stolen assets, while ether made up more than half of the total loot, with 58%. The remaining 22% belonged to other altcoins and ERC-20 tokens.
crypto fuel missile program
Despite several sanctions from the United States, North Korea is still working on its nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, the United Nations (UN) accused the Asian state of funding stolen digital assets for its missile tests.
The organization said North Korea launched nine nuclear experiments in January alone, the largest number of tests conducted in a month in the country’s weapons history.
“The DPRK demonstrated increased capabilities for rapid deployment, broad mobility (including at sea), and improved resilience of its missile forces,” UN alerted
However, China and Russia refused to sign the statement, accusing North Korea of launching such programs.
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