As of September 14, North Korean cybercriminals had stolen $340.4 million, with a third of that amount obtained in just two attacks. Chainalysis analysts stated this.
The value of stolen crypto linked to North Korean hacking groups in 2023 is currently over $340.4M, compared to over $1.65B in total last year. DPRK remains a significant threat, accounting for 29.7% of cryptocurrency stolen via hacks so far this year. pic.twitter.com/X0xD6Zt2E6
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023
According to their estimates, current losses for the crypto industry from the actions of North Korean hackers have decreased by 80% – in 2022 they stole a record $1.65 billion.
Nevertheless, the dynamics of the attacks cause concern among experts. Over the past 10 days, the Lazarus Group hacked the Stake betting platform for $40 million and the CoinEx exchange for $55 million.
“The fact that rates have decreased this year does not necessarily indicate improved security or a decrease in criminal activity,” the Chainalysis report said.
The industry is literally one major hack away from crossing the billion-dollar threshold in stolen funds in 2023, analysts say.
Chainalysis also found that since 2021, North Korean hackers have become more reliant on some Russian exchanges and cryptocurrency mixers to launder illicit funds.
We’ve observed instances of DPRK-linked hackers sending funds to Russian services since 2021. But this year’s transfer of $21.9M stolen from Harmony to a high-risk Russian exchange is an escalation of that activity. You can see examples of some of those transactions below. pic.twitter.com/S9cDxlk9Hu
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023
“This year’s transfer of $21.9 million stolen from the Harmony cross-chain protocol to a Russian high-risk exchange is an escalation of this activity,” experts said.
Chainalysis believes that enhanced checks of smart contracts will make life more difficult for hackers.
Let us recall that, according to some data, the total damage to the crypto industry from the actions of cybercriminals associated with Pyongyang amounted to $3 billion. Half of this amount went to finance the ballistic missile program.
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