The US says North Korea stole $659 million in crypto assets last year

The United States, Japan, and South Korea have Issued a warning against North Korea Threat actors actively and aggressively targeting the cryptocurrency industry. In their joint report, the countries said that Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) threat groups continue to organize numerous cybercrime campaigns to steal cryptocurrencies. Those bad actors – including the Lazarus hacking group, which the US believes were Spreading cyber attacks Worldwide since 2009 – targeting “exchanges, digital asset custodians and individual users.” They appear to have stolen $659 million worth of crypto assets in 2024 alone.

The countries said North Korean hackers were using “well-disguised social engineering attacks” to infiltrate their targets’ systems. They also warned that actors could gain access to privately owned systems by posing as independent IT workers. Back in 2022, the United States Guidelines issued About how potential North Korean workers are identified, such as how they typically log in from multiple IP addresses, transfer money to accounts based in the People’s Republic of China, request payments in cryptocurrencies, have conflicts with their basic information and are sometimes inaccessible during Assumed working hours.

Once bad actors get in, they typically deploy malware, such as keyloggers and remote access tools, so they can steal login credentials and, ultimately, the virtual currency they can control and sell. As for where the stolen money goes: The United Nations issued a report in 2022, revealing that its investigators discovered that North Korea is using money stolen by its threat actors in its missile programs. “Together, our three governments seek to prevent thefts, including from private industry, by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and recover stolen funds with the ultimate goal of depriving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of ​​the illicit revenues of its weapons of mass destruction and illegal ballistic missile programs.” South Korea said.