North Korea Suspected of Another Cryptocurrency Heist... Hacking Worth 45.5 Billion Won

Atomic Wallet Users Hacked
Matches North Korea's Money Laundering Methods
Cryptocurrency Used for Missile Launches

North Korea is estimated to have stolen at least $35 million (approximately 45.5 billion KRW) worth of cryptocurrency by hacking a virtual currency platform, CNN reported on the 6th (local time).

According to CNN, the cryptocurrency wallet platform 'Atomic Wallet' announced on the 3rd that less than 1% of its monthly users were affected by the hacking. Atomic Wallet did not disclose the perpetrators behind the hack or the exact amount of damage.

However, Elliptic, a UK-based blockchain analysis firm, claimed that the money laundering methods used by the hackers in this incident match North Korea's modus operandi. A well-known cryptocurrency crime analyst operating anonymously online under the name 'ZachXBT' also told CNN on the same day, "It is highly likely that this hacking was carried out by North Korea," adding, "The hacking method is similar to the 'Harmony Fund' money laundering technique."

Previously, in January last year, North Korea stole $100 million from the U.S. cryptocurrency company Harmony. A joint investigation team from South Korea and the U.S. tracked the whereabouts of the stolen $100 million for several months and managed to intercept about $1 million just before it was laundered. U.S. judicial authorities froze these funds.

Recently, North Korea has been siphoning off large amounts of cryptocurrency from exchanges through the hacking group 'Lazarus.' On the 16th of last month, Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that North Korea has hacked cryptocurrency worth 98 billion yen (approximately 963.5 billion KRW) in Japan since 2017. The amount of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea in Japan is 8.8 times the country's export value in 2021 ($81.96 million).

Experts believe that North Korea has used the hacked cryptocurrency to fund missile development. It is estimated that firing a single short-range ballistic missile costs about 4 billion KRW, while launching an intercontinental ballistic missile can cost up to 39 billion KRW. Currently, North Korea is under international sanctions, making it nearly impossible to raise such funds solely through foreign trade and overseas labor dispatch.

The U.S. government is struggling to find measures to stop North Korea's actions. On the 10th of last month, Anne Neuberger, Deputy Assistant to the President for Cyber and Emerging Technology at the White House National Security Council (NSC), emphasized at a discussion hosted by the Washington-based nonprofit 'Center for Strategic and Competitive Research Projects (CSP)' that "U.S. intelligence agencies are identifying North Korean operatives, and the Treasury Department is tracking the stolen cryptocurrency," adding, "The Treasury Department needs to understand how money flows within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and the State Department and Department of Defense need to understand who these actors are and how countries like North Korea are so creative in this area."