North Korea’s Hackers Steal Over $1 Billion in Crypto, Says US Security Council Report

According to an annual report from the United States Security Council, North Korean hackers have stolen more than $1 billion from the crypto industry.

This sum is double the amount that was stolen in 2021. The report revealed that the bad actors carry out these crypto crimes via advanced scopes and techniques, taking advantage of every little loophole discovered.

Despite the possibility of tracking crypto hacks, the report added that the basic cryptocurrency and blockchain features make it difficult to track illicitly obtained virtual assets, which are protected by both the anonymity of the blockchain and the intentional obfuscation of the passage of assets through cryptocurrency exchanges.

The report further disclosed that the funds North Korea stole from the crypto industry may be used to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The panel said an investigation linked to apparent exports of military communications equipment to Russia is currently ongoing.

Member countries were encouraged to heed guidelines from the anti-money-laundering Financial Action Task Force to curb the increasing value of stolen funds in crypto.

North Korea’s prominent group called ‘Lazarus’ has successfully made it to the news headlines over the past four months since the year started, reportedly behind the Euler Finance hack.

As the record for hacks rooted in North Korea continues to soar, the UN has made an effort to sanction Ethereum (ETH) addresses linked to the region’s hackers. In February, both Binance and Huobi seized $1.4 million in crypto funds related to the June 2022 Harmony Bridge exploitation.