"North Korea Emerges as Major Cryptocurrency Threat... Steals 3 Trillion Won This Year"

Chainalysis Report Highlights
North Korea Responsible for 59% of Total Stolen Funds

It has been reported that North Korean hackers stole approximately $2 billion (about 3 trillion won) worth of cryptocurrency this year.

Chainalysis, a US-based blockchain analytics company, released a report on its website on December 18 (local time) detailing these findings. According to the report, the total amount stolen from the global cryptocurrency industry this year reached $3.4 billion (about 5.1 trillion won). Of this, North Korean hackers were responsible for 59% of the total amount stolen and 76% of the service-related breaches, excluding personal wallet breaches.

The amount of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea increased by 51% compared to last year. The report assessed that North Korea has established itself as a major threat to cryptocurrency security.

The cumulative amount of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea so far has reached $6.75 billion (about 10.125 trillion won). The largest cryptocurrency theft committed by North Korea this year was in February, when the North Korean hacking group Lazarus stole about $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from the exchange Bybit.

Although the number of cryptocurrency theft incidents attributed to North Korea this year was lower than in previous years, the report noted that the average amount stolen per incident increased. This was due to methods such as infiltrating IT personnel into cryptocurrency service providers to gain system access. In particular, North Korean-linked hacking groups have gone beyond simply placing IT personnel in companies; they have also impersonated recruiters from well-known artificial intelligence (AI) companies, conducting so-called "technical interviews" to steal sensitive information from victims’ current employers, such as credentials, source code, and access rights, according to Chainalysis.

Andrew Fierman, Head of National Security Intelligence at Chainalysis, said in an email interview with Bloomberg, "Cryptocurrency theft has become a revenue-generating business for North Korea’s fundraising efforts," adding, "Funds obtained through hacking will strengthen the North Korean regime and its weapons of mass destruction programs."

North Korea reportedly launders most of the stolen cryptocurrency by breaking it into smaller amounts, typically under $500,000, before moving it. The report also explained that North Korea frequently uses Chinese-language money transfer and payment guarantee services, and that the laundering process for stolen cryptocurrency is usually completed within about 45 days.