Just last year, crypto hackers managed to steal about $3.7 billion in digital assets, with North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors taking the lead as the main culprit in many of those heists, according to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company.
Although this year has seen a decline in crypto hacks compared to 2022, about $400 million of virtual currency was stolen in the first quarter of 2023, TRM Labs reported.
Over the last few years, North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors have aggressively targeted the crypto sector, often taking advantage of an industry that is not well understood by many and not well regulated.
U.S. officials and the United Nations have reported that stolen crypto funds have become an important source of revenue for North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.
“The problem has gotten very big and very serious with North Korea cybercriminals accounting for about $1 billion in stolen crypto last year,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs.
“With North Korea, it is not about personal financial gain. Stolen crypto is used to fund weapons proliferation and other destabilizing activity,” Redbord said, adding it has become a “serious national security threat.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
