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the past year see one amazing rise in value Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Bitcoin will rise 60% in value in 2021, and Ethereum will soar 80%.So perhaps unsurprisingly, relentless North Korean hackers People who make a living from the booming crypto economy also had a very good year.
North Korean hackers stole $395 million worth of cryptocurrency last year through seven breaches of cryptocurrency exchanges and investment firms, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The nine-figure sum is nearly $100 million more than last year’s theft by North Korean hacking groups, bringing their total theft over the past five years to $1.5 billion in cryptocurrencies alone — and that’s not counting the Hundreds of millions of dollars in the country. Has been stolen from the traditional financial system.Now, in Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian regime seeking to defend itself and its weapons program– despite the country’s severe sanctions, isolation and economic woes.
“They were very successful,” said Erin Plante, senior director of investigations at Chainalysis, whose report called 2021 a “signature year” for North Korean cryptocurrency theft. Findings suggest that North Korea’s global serial robberies are accelerating even during attempted crackdowns by law enforcement; for example, the U.S. Department of Justice, Indicted three North Koreans in absentia last February, accusing them of stealing at least $121 million from cryptocurrency businesses as well as a string of other financial crimes. Charges have also been laid against a Canadian man who allegedly helped launder money. But these efforts have not stopped the loss of cryptocurrency wealth. “We are pleased to see law enforcement agencies take action against North Korea,” Plante said, “but the threat remains and is growing.”
The Chainalysis numbers are based on the exchange rate at the time the money was stolen and not only indicate an appreciation in the value of cryptocurrencies. The increase in stolen funds is also in sync with last year’s number of thefts; the seven breaches tracked by Chainalysis in 2021 is three more than in 2020, but less than the 10 successful attacks by North Korean hackers in 2018, when they stole A record $522 million.
For the first time since Chainalysis began tracking North Korean cryptocurrency thefts, Bitcoin no longer represents most of the country’s assets, accounting for only about 20 percent of stolen funds. Fifty-eight percent of these groups’ crypto earnings came from stolen ether, the unit of currency on the ethereum network. Another 11% (~$40 million) came from stolen ERC-20 tokens, a form of cryptoasset used to create smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.
Chainalysis’ Plante attributes the increased focus on ethereum-based cryptocurrencies (thefts totaled $272 million last year compared to $161 million in 2020) to the soaring asset prices in the ethereum economy, and the emerging emerging markets that growth has nurtured company. “Some of these exchanges and trading platforms are newer and may be more vulnerable to these types of intrusions,” she said. “They trade a lot of ether and ERC-20 tokens, they’re just easier targets.”
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