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North Korea Crypto Theft Hit Record High Last Year, UN Says: Reuters
The estimated value of stolen crypto assets ranges to as high as $1 billion.
Updated Mar 9, 2024, 1:59 a.m. Published Feb 7, 2023, 9:26 a.m.
North Korea stole a record amount of cryptocurrency last year, according to a United Nations report, Reuters said Tuesday.
"A higher value of cryptocurrency assets was stolen by DPRK actors in 2022 than in any previous year," a report submitted to the 15-member U.N. council for North Korea sanctions said. The country's official name is Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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Estimates of the value taken ranged from $630 million, according to South Korea, to over $1 billion, according to an unspecified cybersecurity firm.
Most cyberattacks were carried out by groups controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North's Korea's primary intelligence agency. These include hacking teams known by names such as Kimsuky, Lazarus Group and Andariel.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently linked North Korea to the $100 million theft of crypto assets from Horizon Bridge, a service enabling crypto assets to be traded between the Harmony blockchain and other networks, which took place in June.
The thefts are used “to support North Korea’s ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs,” the FBI said.
Read more: North Korean Hacking Group Tied to $100M Harmony Hack Moves 41,000 Ether Over Weekend
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