Blockchain detective Chainalysis estimates that North Korean hackers stole $395 million worth of cryptocurrencies in the past year, with seven successful security breaches, Wired reports. The biggest share of these breaches is the leading altcoin Ethereum blockchain. In 2021, $272 million was stolen in Ethereum by North Korean hackers. In other words, it can be said that Ethereum has become the new darling of North Korean hackers. Detail cryptocoin.com‘in.
Pioneering altcoin targeted by hackers
Those related to Ethereum piracy accounted for 58% ($272 million) of the total piracy activity of $395 million. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, represents just one-fifth of the $400 million figure. The share of Ethereum-based tokens is 11%. According to Chainalysis data, the total amount of crypto stolen by Hermit Kingdom has surpassed $1.5 billion. North Korea, one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, is an ineffective actor on the global economic scene.
Close ties with China, which buys 90% of North Korea’s goods, are helping to keep the faltering economy going. As a result of heavy embargoes, the North Korean state turns a blind eye to some crimes. In the wake of drug trafficking and counterfeiting, cybercrime has emerged as a new source of revenue for the rogue state, with cryptocurrency exchanges lucrative targets for North Korea’s military hacking units. The authoritarian regime of Kim Jong Un has relied on hackers to finance the development of sophisticated ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.
In 2018, North Korean hackers stole $522 million, which remains their biggest annual earnings to date. The notorious Lazarus hacking group, which carried out a massive breach of Sony Pictures in 2014, was responsible for robbing Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin in 2020. Last September, Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was found guilty of helping North Korea circumvent US sanctions.
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