North Korea may have stolen more than $1bn worth of cryptocurrency in 2022, according to a new report by the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
The exact number is not known, but the report published on Wednesday, estimates that the amount stolen by the country’s state-backed hackers runs between $630m and $1bn.
The panel, examining North Korea’s continuous cyberattacks explained that the country has been increasing its technological capabilities to conduct even more successful attacks and hit bigger targets.
“The country used increasingly sophisticated cybertechniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyberfinance and to steal information of potential value, including to its weapons programs”, a statement read.
The report argued that stolen cryptocurrency funds are easier to move as they are protected by the blockchain mechanism and the relative anonymity it bestows.
Services such as “mixers” that obfuscate the origins of such illicit proceeds are also an issue.
One way for the UN and authorities to start addressing this is to involve more of the relevant regulatory bodies, including the Financial Action Task Force.
A concern for the UN is that crypto can fuel rogue-state’s ambitions to procure weapons of mass destruction.
Hackers in North Korea are state-backed and do not operate independently. The money they steal is then forwarded to the country’s nuclear programs and weapon research, with North Korea becoming a bigger threat in its region.
As to consumers, North Korea is targeting large overseas companies and usually managing to exploit and steal funds that run in the millions.
Companies and countries have attempted to fight back against North Korean hackers for the past few years. Authorities across the world are also pooling their efforts to trace stolen funds and prevent them from being used.
Looking for your next crypto casino? Check out: Mega Dice or FortuneJack