North Korean Hackers Stole $400M in 2021, Mostly in Ether

North Korean hackers stole almost $400 cardinal worthy of integer assets from crypto platforms past year, mostly successful the signifier of ether, according to a Chainalysis study published connected Thursday.

• For the archetypal time, ether accounted for astir – 58% – of the stolen funds, according to the report. It was followed by altcoins and ERC-20 tokens, with bitcoin astatine conscionable 20% of the total, Chainalysis said.

• The accrued assortment of tokens has led the hackers to measurement up their efforts to launder their spoils, the study said. The emblematic process present involves respective steps of swapping 1 cryptocurrency for different connected decentralized exchanges and utilizing decentralized concern (DeFi) mixers, privateness tools for obscuring the past of the transactions, to conceal their tracks, according to Chainalysis.

• Mixers were the astir utilized instrumentality among North Korean hackers for the archetypal time, accounting for implicit 65% of stolen funds, up from 42% successful 2020 and 21% the twelvemonth before, Chainalysis said. In 2017 and 2019, crypto exchanges were the astir fashionable mode of laundering money.

• About $170 cardinal of stolen funds from 49 exploits dating backmost to 2017 person yet to beryllium laundered, the study said.

• The fig of North Korea-attributed attacks grew from 4 to seven, and the funds stolen grew by 40%, the highest since 2018, according to the report. The victims were mostly concern firms and centralized exchanges.

• Chainalysis said that galore of past year's attacks were apt carried retired by a radical labeled arsenic precocious persistent menace 38 (APT38), besides known arsenic Lazarus Group. The radical is believed to beryllium led by Pyonyang’s superior quality agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.