North Korean hackers stole $ 400 million in cryptography last year: report | Cryptography

The analysis shows that North Korea-related hacking has grown from four in 2020 to seven in 2021.

North Korea attacked at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms that took out $ 400 million in digital assets last year, one of the most successful years on record, the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis said in a new report.

“From 2020 to 2021, the number of hacks associated with North Korea has risen from four to seven, and the value of those hacks has risen by 40 percent,” the report said on Thursday.

“Once North Korea got the funds in place, they started a careful laundering process to cover up and withdraw money,” the report added.

A group of UN experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea has accused Pyongyang of using stolen funds to prevent sanctions to support nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea has not responded to media inquiries, but has previously issued statements denying allegations of piracy.

In the first year The United States charged three North Korean computer programmers working for the country’s intelligence service, with a horrific year-long hacking aimed at stealing more than $ 1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, from companies and banks to Hollywood film studios.

Chainalysis did not identify all the targets of the hack, but said it was mostly investment firms and centralized exchanges, including Liquid.com, which announced in August that it had gained access to some cryptocurrency wallets managed by an unauthorized user.

The attackers used phishing scams, code exploits, malware and advanced social engineering to channel funds from these organizations’ “hot” wallets connected to the Internet to North Korean-controlled addresses, the report said.

‘Beware plan’

Many of last year’s attacks were probably carried out by the Lazarus Group, a U.S.-sanctioned hacking group, and said to be controlled by the North Korean Intelligence Bureau.

The group has been accused of being involved in “WannaCry” ransomware attacks, hacking into international bank and customer accounts, and in 2014 in cyber attacks against Sony Pictures Entertainment.

North Korea also appears to have stepped up its efforts to clear stolen cryptocurrencies by significantly increasing the use of mixers or the use of software tools that mix cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses, Chainalysis said.

The report said researchers had identified $ 170 million in uncleaned cryptocurrency holdings from 49 hacks between 2017 and 2021.

The report said it is unclear why hackers will still be sitting in those funds, but said they may be hoping to outrun interest in law enforcement before the money is taken out.

“Whatever the reason, (North Korea) is enlightened by the time it takes to sustain these funds, as it suggests a careful plan, not a desperate one,” Chainalysis concluded.