North Korean Hackers
According to a TRM Labs analysis, hackers with ties to North Korea were responsible for one-third of all cryptocurrency exploits and thefts last year, taking away about $600 million in cash.
The blockchain analytics company claimed on Friday that the amount takes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) total revenue from cryptocurrency initiatives to about $3 billion over the previous six years.
Nevertheless, according to Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM, the amount is roughly 30% lower than in 2022. Actors with ties to the DPRK stole about $850 million that year, "a huge chunk" of which came from the Ronin Bridge exploit, Redbord said.
Current Scenario
The latter few months of 2023 saw the majority of the stolen money seized.
"They're clearly attacking the crypto ecosystem at a really unprecedented speed and scale and continue to take advantage of sort of weak cyber controls," said Redbord. Many of the attacks continue to use so-called social engineering, allowing the perpetrators to acquire private keys for projects, he said.
TRM links around $200 M in stolen funds to North Korea last year. The fact that the earnings of North Korean attacks go toward the development of WMDs raises worries about national security and sets them apart from other attacks.
Stolen Money: 2023
In 2023, the total amount of money obtained through hacking was approximately $1.7 billion, as opposed to $4 billion, which was taken the year before.
Redbord gave multiple reasons for the decline. Less significant hacks, such as the Ronin theft in 2022, have occurred. Other contributing factors include stronger cybersecurity measures, effective law enforcement initiatives, and, to a lesser degree, price volatility in the previous year.
During a recent trilateral meeting over North Korea's WMD efforts, national security officials from the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan brought up these concerns directly.
"North Korean hackers are different, because it's not for greed or money or the typical hacker mentality; it's about taking those funds and using them for weapons proliferation and other types of destabilizing activity, which is a global threat," Redbord said. "And that's why there's such a focus on it from a national security perspective."