A recent report of UN experts on cybersecurity threats has revealed that North Korea has not stopped stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from financial institutions and cryptocurrency organizations and exchanges. Illegally obtained money plays a very important role in North Korean nuclear and missile programs, U.N. experts said in a report quoting cyber specialists.
The state-sponsored cybercriminals often use prevalent methods of attacks including phishing lures, malware, code exploits, and advanced social engineering to siphon funds out of these organizations’ internet-connected ‘hot’ wallets into DPRK-controlled addresses.
The panel of experts has also said that according to an unnamed government, North Korean “cyber-actors stole more than $50 million between 2020 and mid-2021 from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe, and Asia, probably reflecting a shift to diversify its cybercrime operations.”
The experts further added that the “Cyber-actors stole a total of $400 million worth of cryptocurrency through seven intrusions into cryptocurrency exchanges and investment firms".
The panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea said that the cryptocurrency funds that have been stolen by the state-sponsored threat actors go through a very protective money laundering process in order to be cashed out.
A year ago, the panel quoted an unidentified country saying North Korea’s “total theft of virtual assets from 2019 to November 2020 is valued at approximately $316.4 million.”
In the same year, North Korea had advanced its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles even after United Nations sanctions. Further, for its funding, the state uses malicious actors' help and continues to seek material and technology overseas for its arsenal including in Iran, said, experts.
“Cyberattacks, particularly on cryptocurrency assets, remain an important revenue source for the state government, and the experts are monitoring the implementation of sanctions against the North,” experts said in the new report.
