New data from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs shows that North Korean hackers stole more than half a billion dollars worth of digital assets in 2023.
Hackers linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) looted $600 million worth of crypto assets last year, according to a new study from the crypto analytics platform.
If confirmed, the exploits discovered in late December suggest the figure could be as high as $700 million.
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was responsible for almost a third of all funds stolen in crypto attacks last year, despite a 30% reduction from the 2022 haul of $850 million.
Hacks committed by North Korea were on average ten times more damaging than hacks not related to North Korea. Since 2017, nearly $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been lost to Pyongyang-linked threat actors.”
The research shows that North Korean hackers are using crypto mixing tools to obscure their illegal actions from law enforcement and switch to other crypto tumblers if their preferences are punished.
“The DPRK’s money laundering methods are constantly evolving to evade pressure from international law enforcement. While US sanctions and enforcement actions focused on Tornado Cash and ChipMixer – the previous go-to embezzlement platforms – North Korea turned to another mixer it had already started using, the BTC service Sinbad.
After Sinbad was sanctioned by OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) in November 2023, North Korea continued to investigate other money laundering tools.”
TRM Labs concludes by noting that North Korea will continue hacking crypto wallets in 2024.
Previously, TRM Labs found that North Korean hackers had looted about $2 billion worth of virtual currencies over the past five years.
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