UN Links North Korean Cybercriminals in Major Crypto Thefts In 2022
A report on the issue of crypto thefts in 2022 has been compiled by the United Nations (UN).
UN report revealed that about crypto thefts, in 2022 were not only worse than previous but the worst in history.
UN noted that the year 2022 was the record-breaking year especially with regard to exploiting digital asset industry and economy.
The report named North Korean-lined perpetrators in siphoning off most of the crypto funds stolen in the past year.
The full text of UN report hasn’t been published which is expected to be published latest by February or later by March.
However, some extracts of the draft report were shared with permission by UN with Nikkei Asia as well as Reuters. Hence, the information pertaining to the report is either supplied by Nikkei Asia or Reuters.
State in Isolation Sponsoring Organized Crimes
It has been claimed by the UN in the report that the state living in isolation has been able to generate funds by sponsoring cyberattacks.
By doing so, North Korean is helping its economy from suffering a much lesser burden stemming from international sanctions.
As of today, UN’s report remains strictly confidential, which has so far been shared with UN’s relevant committee on North Korea only.
The said report has been compiled on the basis of information supplied to UN by global security firms and member states.
UN has furthermore accused North Korean capital, Pyongyang, for housing, accommodating and commanding cybercriminals.
Theft Estimate Differs
Within this report, the authors have shared their own estimates of crypto funds stolen by North Korean cybercriminals.
One of the authors estimated that the criminals siphoned off funds amounting to more than $630 Million. However, the estimate provided by security firms to the UN differs from that of UN.
According to cybersecurity firms’ estimate, North Korean cybercriminals caused a loss of over $1 Billion upon the digital asset sector.
The report further indicates that in 2021, the amount to funds stolen from crypto industry by North Korean criminals was lesser. It has been claimed in the UN’s report that 2022’s loss is double the size of 2021.
One argument is that the estimates are differing because of the fluctuations in the value of USD against cryptocurrencies.
As Compared To US, South Korean Was Less Affected
The report further revealed that US’s crypto industry was found to be number one target from North Korean-linked cybercriminals.
Within US alone, the criminals stole hefty amounts of funds US based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. In some cases, even the ransomware attempts also were noted and the ransom was paid by US entities to criminals.
After US, Europe is the second high-end target for North Korean hackers. A large number of their activities and crimes were executed in several member states of Europe.
Amongst the top victims were states such as France, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium, Hungary etc.
Not even the neighboring country i.e. South Korea was saved from the hacking schemes of North Korean based hackers.
In fact, South Korean comes at number ten whose digital asset industry has been targeted and exploited by criminals in North Korea.
UN is of the view that further talks be organized with North Korean officials so as to convince them preventing such activities. If the state refuses to coordinate, then it is likely that further restrictions would be imposed.