North Korea’s Alleged $3 Billion Crypto Attacks Reviewed by UN

Over the past six years, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been linked to cyberattacks targeting cryptocurrency firms, a strategy that has reportedly netted the nation around $3 billion. These funds are believed to support North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

An investigation led by an independent sanctions committee under the United Nations (UN) is currently underway, focusing on these DPRK-related hacking activities. A Reuters report, referring to undisclosed UN documents, revealed that the committee is probing into 58 attacks on crypto-related companies from 2017 to 2023. These attacks are not just for financial gains but are allegedly aimed at funneling money into North Korea’s WMD programs.

A statement from the investigation highlights the scale and purpose of these cyberattacks: “The panel is investigating 58 suspected DPRK cyberattacks on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately $3 billion, which reportedly help fund DPRK’s WMD development.”

The findings of this investigation are eagerly awaited, with a report expected to be made public in the coming two months.

In recent research, Chainalysis, a firm specializing in blockchain analysis, found that in 2023, hacking groups associated with the DPRK managed to extract roughly $1 billion in cryptocurrency through 20 separate attacks. This figure represents a drop from the previous year, 2022, when the losses due to cyberattacks linked to North Korea reached $1.7 billion from 15 incidents.