Many professional and amateur investors have benefited from Cryptocurrency during the past years. However, there was also Hackers who know how to keep part of this money Through various digital fraud techniques.
One of the biggest hacker groups who have stolen Cryptocurrency During 2021 comes from North Korea. According to a report by international consulting firm Chainalysis, This gang of cybercriminals stole nearly $400 million In cryptocurrencies over the past year, it is being investigated whether a significant portion of these assets were laundered and directed to support the country’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
In addition, they pointed out from the company that this amount of cryptocurrency represents an increase of nearly $100 million compared to thefts by this type of cybercrime group during the year 2020. “Thus, they have increased their total earnings in the past five years. to one and a half billion dollars of these digital assets alone‘, the message states.
sum, Seven attacks were carried out North Korean criminals steal cryptocurrency. It was directed to investment firms or central exchanges and digital fraud techniques such as phishing were used to transfer funds to wallets registered in that Asian country.
The cryptocurrency that the North Korean criminal group has stolen the most is Ethereum. Those data surprised those who prepared the report because until 2021, criminals mostly focused on Bitcoin. However, in the past year, those digital assets made up only 20% of the stolen funds.
Of the total, according to Chainalysis, 58% of the stolen cryptocurrency was etherThe monetary unit of the Ethereum network. The remaining 22% came from ERC-20 tokens, a form of crypto-asset used to create smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.
Attributes of Chainalysis that increased focus on Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies to skyrocketing cryptocurrency prices, So are the start-ups whose growth has boosted them.
On the other hand, they explained that North Korean hackers generally use cryptocurrency theft To support the country’s weapons programs. One reason hackers focus on stealing cryptocurrency over other financial crimes is the relative ease with which digital money can be laundered.
Chainalysis found that groups have many options for laundering their stolen cryptocurrency. Among the most important are the exchanges located in Asia and exchanging your cryptocurrency for the Chinese renminbi, for example. At the same time, North Korean hacker groups use decentralized exchanges Designed to connect cryptocurrency traders directly without intermediaries.
Chainalysis found that North Korean criminals are patient in making money from their stolen cryptocurrency. They usually hold the funds for years before the washing process begins. pirates, in fact, It appears to contain $170 million worth of unlaundered cryptocurrency From thefts of previous years.
The report also indicates that the Lazarus group committed most of these thefts.. He gained notoriety years ago with his cyber attacks on Sony Pictures and WannaCry. However, he has since focused his efforts on cryptocurrency crime. According to the report, since 2018, the group has stolen and laundered more than $200 million in cryptocurrency.
In turn, according to the UN Security Council, the income generated from these thefts Go support WMD programs Ballistic missiles from North Korea.
