North Korean Hackers Stole $600 Million in 2023

Over the past year, hackers linked to North Korea have stolen at least $600 million and are responsible for nearly a third of cyber incidents, according to a report by TRM Labs.

Analysts suggest the total could rise if North Korean involvement in the hack of the cross-chain bridge Orbit Bridge on the last day of 2023 is confirmed.

The figure reported by TRM Labs is 30% less than in 2022, when the company’s experts estimated losses to the industry from North Korean hackers at $850 million. A UN report cited $630 million, while Chainalysis claimed $1.7 billion.

“Hacks carried out by North Korea were on average ten times more destructive than those not linked to [the country],” the report states.

According to experts, North Korean hackers employ social engineering to gain access to private keys and seed phrases. They exchange the stolen funds for USDT or Tron and convert them into hard currency through major over-the-counter brokers.

“As US sanctions and enforcement actions targeted Tornado Cash and ChipMixer […] North Korea switched to another mixer — the Sinbad service. After the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC imposed sanctions on Sinbad in November 2023, North Korea continued to explore other money laundering tools,” analysts highlighted.

Previously, experts at Recorded Future estimated that since 2017, North Korean hackers have stolen approximately $3 billion in digital assets.

In April 2023, the U.S. Treasury identified three over-the-counter traders conducting cryptocurrency transactions worth tens of millions of dollars for the Lazarus Group.