North Korea “hacked cryptocurrency exchanges for $1.7 billion” – experts say.
Is North Korea cooperating with criminals?
According to Newsis and Chosun, North Korean hackers “they are conspiring with money laundering criminals”To “steal cryptocurrencies.” Their victims were at least “three virtual asset exchanges.”
Quoting data from an American blockchain analysis company, Chainalysisand South Korean Asan Institute for Policy Studies (a leading international policy think tank), federal authorities’ reports show that at least three cases of hacking of cryptocurrency exchanges were directly linked to North Korea. This includes the 2017 hack of a Slovenian platform, the 2018 attack on an Indonesian exchange, and finally the 2020 hack of a New York exchange.
South Korean authorities also accused Pyongyang about the attack on Bitthumb in 2017. This was allegedly a hack worth $281 million KuCoin and the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange You Bitwhich fell after the second attack.
Experts in Seoul and Washington said in 2018 that Pyongyang had trained a group of at least 20-30 elite “cyber warriors” – instructing them how to attack Western companies with impunity.
What do hackers do with stolen funds?
It’s just not clear what North Korea is doing with the stolen cryptocurrencies. It’s possible they’re hoarding them.
Koh Myung Hyunsenior researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told the media:
Considering that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has increased more than 60-fold since 2017, when North Korean hackers began hacking cryptocurrency exchanges in earnest, and the country treats stolen cryptocurrencies as long-term investments, cryptocurrency has become the only financial asset North Korea can buy while the country is hit by strict economic sanctions (…).
South Korean experts say that “the ultimate challenge for North Korean hackers” there will be a sale “stolen cryptocurrencies.”
Once the funds are finally converted into cash, North Korea may want to use the money to build a long-awaited seaside tourist attraction – the planned Tourist Area Wonsan Kalma (details of which were first revealed in 2014) – as well as a new flagship hospital in the capital.
