South’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), revealed Thursday that North Korean cyber criminals have stolen around 1.5 trillion won worth $ 1.2 billion from the cryptocurrency industry over the past few years. The Associated Press reported that the country uses the criminal proceeds to finance its missile programs.
Over $600M Was Stolen This Year
According to the report, the state-sponsored hackers exploited many crypto firms around the world between 2017 and 2022, with more than half of the assets ( $626 million stolen) this year. Out of the $624 million stolen this year, the cybercriminals stole over $78 million from South Korea alone.
In a separate report from The New York Times, the black hat hackers were accused of hijacking $571 million from crypto exchanges between January 2017 and September 2018 and $316 million from 2019 to November 2020.
The country was also alleged of stealing $2 billion from banks and digital asset firms in 2019. However, North Korea refuted the allegations, noting that the claims were a ploy to destroy its reputation.
In April, the hackers were linked to the Axie Infinity Ronin Network exploit, which represented one of the largest hacks in the industry this year, with more than $600 million carted away from the platform.
Among the Best in the World
NIS believes North Korea’s hacking skills are among the best in the world as the country focused on cyber crimes to improve its economy after being sanctioned by the United Nations (U.N.) between 2016 and 2017 due to its nuclear and missile tests.
The nation was banned from exporting its resources, including coal, textiles, and seafood. The U.N. sanctions also significantly impacted its nationals working abroad as state members repatriated them.
Experts and officials of NIS opine that North Korea turned to crypto hacking and other illegal cyber activities as a source of badly needed foreign currency to support its fragile economy and fund its nuclear program following harsh U.N. sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conduct More Hacking Next Year
With billions of dollars stolen in five years, NIS disclosed that North Korea will attempt more cyber crimes in 2023 to steal advanced South Korean technologies and secret information on the country’s foreign legislation and national security.
Due to North Korea’s notorious history, senior diplomats from the United States, Japan, and South Korea met earlier this month to discuss how to combat illegal North Korean activities.
A panel of U.N. experts said in February that the Kim Jong-un-led country has continued to exploit financial institutions and cryptocurrency companies and is making away with hundreds of millions of dollars.
