During 2022 there were many cases of theft of crypto assets that occurred and some of them were carried out by one country. What country is that?
According to a confidential United Nations (UN) report seen by Reuters, the biggest stealing nation of crypto assets during 2022 will be North Korea. Not only that, North Korea also attacked various networks of various countries' space agencies and security companies.
"(North Korea) is using increasingly sophisticated cyberattack techniques to gain access to digital networks used in cyber finance, and to steal valuable information including weapons programs," the independent sanctions monitor wrote in its report to the UN Security Council.
The monitoring team also previously accused North Korea of using cyber attacks to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
"The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) stole high-value crypto assets in 2022 higher than the previous year," the monitoring team wrote in a report sent to the 15 members of the North Korean sanctions committee.
North Korea has dismissed accusations of cyber attacks and theft of crypto assets.
The monitoring team said South Korea estimates that North Korean hackers stole virtual assets worth USD 630 million by 2022. Meanwhile, a cybersecurity firm estimates that North Korean cybercrimes have reaped crypto assets worth more than USD 1 billion.
"Fluctuations in the USD-denominated value of crypto assets over the past few months may have contributed to these different value estimates, but both indicate that 2022 will be a record breaker for North Korea's theft of virtual assets," the monitors wrote in the report.
"Techniques used by cyberthreat actors are becoming more sophisticated, which makes monitoring stolen funds even more difficult," they added.
For information, this new report will be released to the public at the end of this month or early next month.
Most cyberattacks are carried out by teams controlled by North Korea's main intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Some of the hacker teams that have been monitored include Kimsuky, Lazarus Group, and Andariel.
"These perpetrators continuously target victims to generate revenue and steal information of value to the DPRK including its weapons programs," they added.
They spread malware using various methods, including phishing. The target is employees of organizations in various countries.
"Initial contact was made via LinkedIn, and once the victim believed the malware was delivered via follow-up communications on WhatsApp," the report added.
In 2019, the monitoring team reported that North Korea generated USD 2 billion over several years from cyber attacks. The funds are used for the development of weapons of mass destruction programs.