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North Korea Allegedly Laundered $147.5 Million in Stolen Cryptocurrencies: UN: Tech: Tech Times
According to confidential findings of UN sanctions monitors and reported by Reuters, North Korea funneled $147.5 million through the virtual currency platform Tornado Cash in March this year, allegedly after stealing it from a cryptocurrency exchange in 2023.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 9: In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seen on January 9, 2024 in London, England. Bitcoin investors expect the US Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a decision soon on whether to grant approval of the Bitcoin “exchange-traded fund” (ETF), which would allow people to invest in Bitcoin without having to buy it on a cryptocurrency. exchange like Coinbase or Binance. The price of Bitcoin increased in anticipation of such approval. (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
97 suspected cyber attacks by North Korea against crypto firms
These monitors revealed in a recent filing to a UN Security Council sanctions committee that they investigated 97 suspected cyberattacks by North Korea against cryptocurrency companies between 2017 and 2024, amounting to approximately 3.6 billion dollars.
Among their investigations was an incident late last year in which $147.5 million was withdrawn from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange and then laundered in March, based on information from crypto analytics firm PeckShield and the firm Elliptic blockchain research.
This year alone, observers said they looked into around 11 cryptocurrency thefts worth $54.7 million. They noted that many of these may have been operated by North Korean IT workers inadvertently hired by small crypto firms.
According to reports from UN member states and private companies, observers have pointed out that North Korean IT workers operating overseas generate significant revenue for the country.
North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions since 2006, measures that have progressively intensified over the years to reduce funding for its controversial ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
However, it should be noted that North Korea’s UN mission in New York has not provided official comment on these allegations.
Additionally, Reuters notes that Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the United States in 2022 on charges of aiding North Korea. In 2023, two of its co-founders were accused of facilitating more than $1 billion in money laundering, including a cybercrime group with an alleged link to North Korea.
Read also: CryptoWatch: Terraform Labs Failure, Worldcoin’s Orb 2.0, North Korean Crypto Hackers’ Activity
Cyber attacks by North Korean hackers are increasing
In a related development, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis recently reported an unexpected increase in cyberattacks orchestrated by North Korea-linked hackers against cryptocurrency platforms in 2023.
Last year, hackers were reported to have infiltrated 20 cryptocurrency platforms, marking the highest number in that time frame based on data from 2016 to 2023. While the number is down from the record of 1, $7 billion stolen in 2022, North Korea-linked hackers still managed to steal just over $1 billion in cryptocurrency assets in 2023.
Chainalysis said there has been a notable increase in North Korea-related hacker attacks in recent years, with cyber espionage groups such as Kimsuky and Lazarus Group employing various malicious tactics to steal significant amounts of crypto assets.
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Related article: The US Department of Justice alleges that North Korean workers are working remotely at IT companies to finance weapons programs
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