आईसीटी समाचार
According to an excerpt from a United Nations study citing cybersecurity specialists, North Korea has continued to expand its nuclear and ballistic missile programs over the last year, and cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges appear to have been a significant money source for the government. Between 2020 and mid-2021, hacks stole digital assets worth more than $50 million from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to investigators.
Independent sanctions monitors submitted the report to the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee last week, but it was seen by Reuters. According to the confidential report, North Korea began testing and demonstrating new short-range and possibly medium-range missiles in January, "incorporating both ballistic and guidance technologies and using both solid and liquid propellants" — all of which were primarily sourced through cyberattacks, with cryptocurrency exchanges being a key target.
According to a research published by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis in its newest Crypto Crime report, North Korea committed at least seven assaults against cryptocurrency platforms in 2021, extorting about $400 million in digital assets. "These assaults largely targeted investment firms and centralized exchanges," according to an extract from the firm's 2022 Crypto Crime report. "Once North Korea gained custody of the funds, they began a careful laundering process to cover up and cash out," Chainalysis explained.
It also added that the hackers "made use of phishing lures, code exploits, malware, and advanced social engineering" to siphon funds from companies' hot wallets into addresses controlled by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "Bitcoin accounted for just 20% of the stolen cash... "Ether accounted for a majority of the cash taken for the first time ever, accounting for 58 percent of the total," says Chainalysis. "This year [2021], more over 65 percent of stolen monies from the DPRK were laundered through mixers, up from 42 percent in 2020 and 21 percent in 2019, indicating that these threat actors are becoming more careful with each passing year," the business said.
