North Korea Was Responsible for More Than 600 Million Dollars’ Worth of Cryptocurrency Thefts in 2023

According to a report that TRM Labs published, a substantial amount of money, which amounted to approximately $600 million, was obtained through the use of cryptographic exploits and thefts in the previous year. It was discovered that hackers associated with North Korea were responsible for one-third of these incidents, which is an exciting discovery.

Some information from a blockchain analytics company shows that over the last six years, cryptocurrency projects have brought in almost $3 billion for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Main Funds Were Raised Thanks to the Ronin Bridge Exploit

On the other hand, the figure is approximately thirty percent lower than it was in 2022, as stated by Ari Redbord, who is the head of legal and government affairs at TRM. Redbord disclosed in an interview with CoinDesk that actors affiliated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) were successful in stealing approximately $850 million, with a significant portion of the money coming from the Ronin Bridge exploit.

During the year 2023, a sizeable sum of money was taken from the government in a relatively short amount of time. During August 2023, TRM became aware that North Korea was the origin of approximately two hundred million dollars worth of the stolen funds.

“The crypto ecosystem is being targeted with remarkable speed and scale, exploiting vulnerabilities in cyber controls,” said the researcher.

He asserts that a number of attacks continue to rely on social engineering strategies, which provide the perpetrators with the ability to acquire private keys for a variety of projects.

Half as Much Money Was Stolen in 2023 as in 2022

In the year 2023, the total amount of money that was stolen through hacking was approximately half of what was taken the year before, with $1.7 billion being stolen as opposed to $4 billion.

In his explanation, Redbord stated that a number of different factors caused the decline. In 2022, there was a theft of Ronin, which was one of the significant hacks that have decreased in frequency. One possible explanation for this is that successful law enforcement actions, improved cybersecurity controls, and, to a certain extent, price volatility over the previous year have all contributed to this.

The proceeds from North Korean attacks are being used to develop weapons of mass destruction, which raises concerns about the nation’s security. This is what distinguishes North Korean attacks from other attacks.

The Main Purpose of Hacker Attacks Is to Create and Distribute Weapons

North Korean hackers take a different approach than other hackers because their motivations go beyond the typical hacker mindset or the pursuit of personal gain. Their primary objective is to channel the funds toward the proliferation of weapons and other forms of activities that contribute to instability, which constitutes a significant threat to the entire world, as he stated. “And that’s why it receives significant attention from a national security standpoint.”

A recent trilateral meeting was held in which national security officials from the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, and Japan discussed their concerns regarding North Korea’s efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

“Ronin completely shifted the focus of the discussion to one centered around national security,” Redbord pointed out. “Ronin was a significant event where U.S. Treasury identified addresses linked to North Korea, and these addresses were involved in the transfer of the initial funds, as well as the subsequent two addresses.”

It was because of this that all Tornado Cash sanctions were implemented, which were then followed by Blender.io and now Sinbad, indicating that the government is making a comprehensive effort to address this matter.