{"id":156269,"date":"2023-09-15T07:13:25","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T01:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/?p=156269"},"modified":"2023-09-15T07:13:25","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T01:43:25","slug":"north-korean-crypto-hacks-down-80-but-that-could-change-overnight-chainalysis-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/north-korean-crypto-hacks-down-80-but-that-could-change-overnight-chainalysis-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean crypto hacks down 80% but that could change overnight: Chainalysis – Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 \u2014 but a blockchain forensics firm says it isn\u2019t necessarily a sign of progress.<\/p>\n

As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, down from a record $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in 2022. <\/p>\n

Cryptocurrency funds stolen by North Korean-backed groups between 2016-2023. Source: Chainalysis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe fact that this year\u2019s numbers are down is not necessarily an indicator of improved security or reduced criminal activity,\u201d Chainalysis said<\/a> in a Sept. 14 report. \u201cWe must remember that 2022 set a dismally high benchmark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn reality, we are only one large hack away from crossing the billion-dollar threshold of stolen funds for 2023.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over the past 10 days, North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group has been linked to two separate hacks \u2014 Stake ($40 million)<\/a> on Sept. 4 and CoinEx ($55 million)<\/a> on Sept. 12, combining for a loss of over $95 million.<\/p>\n

With the latest two hacks, North Korea-linked attacks have made up for about 30% of all crypto funds stolen in hacks this year, noted Chainalysis. <\/p>\n

Funds stolen from North Korean hacking groups vs others between 2016 and 2023. Source: Chainalysis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

North Korea turns to dubious exchanges, mixers<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, Chainalysis has found that North Korean hackers have become increasingly reliant on certain Russian-based exchanges to launder illicit funds over the last few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The firm said North Korea has been using various Russian-based exchanges since 2021. One of the largest laundering events involved $21.9 million in funds transferred from Harmony\u2019s $100 million bridge hack<\/a> on June 24, 2022.<\/p>\n

United States-sanctioned cryptocurrency mixers Tornado Cash and Blender have also been used by Lazarus Group in the Harmony<\/a> Bridge hack and other high-profile hacks<\/a> committed by the group.<\/p>\n

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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<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>FBI flags 6 Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korea, urges vigilance in crypto firms <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The United Nations is making an effort to curtail North Korea\u2019s cybercrime tactics at the international level \u2014 as it is understood North Korea is using the stolen funds to support its nuclear missile program.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the firm hopes increased smart contract audits will make life tougher for these hackers.<\/p>\n

Magazine:<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 \u2014 but a blockchain forensics firm says it isn\u2019t necessarily a sign of progress. As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, down from a record $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[235,203,210,234,231,232,237,238,236,233],"class_list":["post-156269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto-currency","tag-elon-musk","tag-ethereum","tag-hyperledger","tag-ibm","tag-mining","tag-nodes","tag-spacex","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156269"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156272,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156269\/revisions\/156272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}