As of September 14, North Korean cybercriminals had stolen $340.4 million, a third of which came from just two attacks, according to Chainalysis.
The value of stolen crypto linked to North Korean hacking groups in 2023 is currently over $340.4M, compared to over $1.65B in total last year. DPRK remains a significant threat, accounting for 29.7% of cryptocurrency stolen via hacks so far this year. pic.twitter.com/X0xD6Zt2E6
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023
They estimate that losses to the crypto industry from North Korea-linked hackers have fallen by 80% — in 2022 they stole a record $1.65 billion.
Nevertheless, the trajectory of attacks concerns experts. Over the past 10 days, the Lazarus Group hacked betting platform Stake for $40m and CoinEx exchange for $55m.
“The fact that this year\’s figures have fallen does not necessarily indicate an improvement in security or a reduction in criminal activity,” the Chainalysis report notes.
Analysts warn that a single major breach could push the industry past the $1 billion stolen mark in 2023.
Chainalysis also found that since 2021 North Korean hackers have increasingly relied on certain Russian exchanges and crypto mixers to launder illicit funds.
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
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023
“The transfer this year of $21.9 million stolen from the cross-chain protocol Harmony to a high-risk Russian exchange is an escalation of this activity,” the experts said.
Chainalysis believes that stronger smart-contract checks will complicate life for hackers.
As reported in some estimates, the cumulative damage to the crypto industry from Pyongyang-linked cybercrime amounted to $3 billion. Half of that went to funding a ballistic missile programme.