- UN report said that the sophisticated nature of theft makes it hard to trace.
- The hackers reportedly used web-based services to launder the extorted money.
A confidential United Nations report indicates that North Korea has raised around $2 billion from stealing fiat and cryptocurrencies to fund its weapons of mass destruction. The report said:
“Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cyber actors, many operating under the direction of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, raise money for its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) programs, with total proceeds to date estimated at up to two billion US dollars.
[North Korea] used cyberspace to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate income.”
Reportedly, the sophisticated nature of the attacks allowed the country “to generate income in ways that are harder to trace and subject to less government oversight and regulation than the traditional banking sector.”
The report further details that web-based services were used by the hackers to launder extorted money from the banks and crypto exchanges. It goes on to outline that the independent experts, who researched and submitted the report, are investigating “at least 35 reported instances of DPRK actors attacking financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and mining activity designed to earn foreign currency” in around 17 countries.
Earlier this year, a media report claimed that North Korea hackers were using phishing tactics to steal sensitive and important information of UpBit (a South Korean crypto exchange) clients. A US State Department spokesperson told Reuters:
“We call upon all responsible states to take action to counter North Korea’s ability to conduct malicious cyber activity, which generates revenue that supports its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs.”
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