North Korean hackers have stolen cryptocurrency assets totaling more than $2 billion since the beginning of the year, experts from Elliptic calculated— this is a record amount for North Korean cybercriminals in such a timeframe.
In February, they managed to carry out the largest cryptocurrency theft in history— they took more than $1.4 billion from the Bybit exchange. The hackers infiltrated the system of a digital wallet provider and executed a transfer from Bybit's 'cold' wallet, which held 400,000 Ethereum coins.
About 68% of these funds have been tracked, the platform's administration reported— this may mean that the perpetrators were able to cash out only a portion of their illegal earnings.
This year, North Korean hackers also targeted platforms LND.fi, WOO X, and Seedify— a total of about thirty incidents. According to Chainalysis experts, since the beginning of the year, cybercriminals from North Korea have seized assets worth $2.17 billion.
Elliptic and Chainalysis provide blockchain tracking services and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to help them curb illegal transactions. Analysts warn that hackers may target not only cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain companies but also wealthy individuals.
Cybercriminals use, in particular, social engineering methods and conduct phishing attacks, tricking victims into installing malware. The share of thefts from individuals in the overall volume of cryptocurrency-related crimes is growing— since the beginning of the year, it has reached 23.35%, according to Chainalysis.
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