Chainalysіs: In 2021 North Korean hackers stole $400 million in cryptocurrencies

North Korean hackers stole about $400 million from crypto platforms in 2021, per Chainalysis.

Hackers from North Korea carried out at least seven cyberattacks on cryptocurrency platforms in 2021, stealing digital assets worth about $400 million. This is according to data from Chainalysіs.

The attacks were primarily aimed at investment firms and centralized exchanges. The attackers used phishing, software vulnerabilities, malware and other techniques.

From 2020 to 2021 the number of North Korea–linked attacks increased, and hackers’ earnings from breaches rose by 40%, according to analysts.

The share of Bitcoin among the stolen assets was only 20%; the majority (58%) went to Ethereum, and another 22% to altcoins and ERC-20 tokens.

Experts recorded a rise in the popularity of mixing services — in 2021 North Korean hackers laundered more than 65% of the stolen funds through them.

Chainalysіs also identified about $170 million in cryptocurrencies stolen by North Korea–linked hackers as a result of 49 attacks carried out from 2017 through 2021. They are controlled by North Korea, but have not yet been laundered.

Analysts suggested that the attackers are not moving the funds, awaiting that law enforcement interest in older breaches will diminish over time.

Earlier, Chainalysіs specialists said that in 2021 the attackers targeting the crypto industry stole a record $14 billion.

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