North Korean Hackers Stole $400 Million in Cryptocurrency Last Year — Ether Accounts for 58% of Stolen Funds

2 years ago

North Korean Hackers Stole Cryptocurrency Worth $400 Million Last Year — Ether Accounts for 58% of Stolen Funds

North Korean hackers stole cryptocurrency worthy astir $400 cardinal past twelvemonth successful astatine slightest 7 large attacks connected crypto platforms. “Only 20% of the stolen funds were bitcoin … And for the archetypal clip ever, ether accounted for a bulk of the funds stolen astatine 58%,” said blockchain information analytics steadfast Chainalysis.

North Korean Hackers Stole $400 Million successful Crypto Last Year

Blockchain analytics level Chainalysis published an investigation connected North Korean hackers and their unlaundered cryptocurrency holdings Thursday. The steadfast described:

North Korean cybercriminals had a banner twelvemonth successful 2021, launching astatine slightest 7 attacks connected cryptocurrency platforms that extracted astir $400 cardinal worthy of integer assets past year.

“These attacks targeted chiefly concern firms and centralized exchanges,” the steadfast explained.

The hackers “made usage of phishing lures, codification exploits, malware, and precocious societal engineering” to siphon funds from companies’ blistery wallets into the addresses controlled by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chainalysis added, elaborating:

Once North Korea gained custody of the funds, they began a cautious laundering process to screen up and currency out.

Chainalysis noted that “In 2021, North Korean hacking enactment was connected the emergence erstwhile again. From 2020 to 2021, the fig of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from 4 to seven, and the worth extracted from these hacks grew by 40%.”

The steadfast besides elaborate that bitcoin present accounts for little than one-fourth of the cryptocurrencies stolen by North Korea, adding:

In 2021, lone 20% of the stolen funds were bitcoin, whereas 22% were either ERC-20 tokens oregon altcoins. And for the archetypal clip ever, ether accounted for a bulk of the funds stolen astatine 58%.

“More than 65% of DPRK’s stolen funds were laundered done mixers this year, up from 42% successful 2020 and 21% successful 2019, suggesting that these menace actors person taken a much cautious attack with each passing year,” the steadfast concluded.

What bash you deliberation astir North Korea launching attacks connected cryptocurrency exchanges and stealing $400 cardinal worthy of crypto past year? Let america cognize successful the comments conception below.

Kevin Helms

A pupil of Austrian Economics, Kevin recovered Bitcoin successful 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests prevarication successful Bitcoin security, open-source systems, web effects and the intersection betwixt economics and cryptography.

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