Crypto Attacks Cause $3.8 Billion In Damage In 2022 By North Korea Groups

Key points:

• In 2022 crypto attacks spiked, and thieves stole a record amount of crypto, $3.8 billion.
• More than 82% of the bitcoin stolen in 2022 was the result of targets in DeFi, a booming industry inside the cryptocurrency space.

Chainalysis, a U.S.-based blockchain analytics company, claimed in a study on Wednesday that last year was the worst on record for crypto attacks, with hackers taking as much as $3.8 billion, driven by attackers linked to North Korea who made more money than ever before.

Hacking activity “ebbed and flowed” throughout the year, with “huge spikes” in March and October, according to a Chainalysis analysis. October was the largest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, with $775.7 million being taken in 32 distinct operations.

According to research released on Wednesday, total cryptocurrency losses jumped from $3.3 billion lost in 2021. Hacking organizations that US officials have connected to the North Korean government are expected to steal $1.7 billion in 2022, up from around $400 million the previous year.

In 2022, the cryptocurrency industry struggled as risk-taking decreased, and several crypto businesses went under. Regulators increased requests for more consumer protection as a result of the significant losses suffered by investors.

US authorities claim that North Korean hackers are concentrating more on the cryptocurrency industry as a way to generate income in the face of international sanctions.

Researchers have discovered that fraudsters have employed a variety of strategies, including posing as people from countries other than North Korea in job interviews and using ransomware. According to Anne Neuberger, the US’s deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, Pyongyang’s weapons development programs receive around one-third of their financing from hacking.

Last Monday, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation accused two North Korean cybercriminal organizations of stealing $100 million during a theft at the Harmony Bridge crypto business in June of last year. According to US sources, the Lazarus Group, a specialist hacking group previously linked by the FBI to North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, also stole almost $600 million in March from a blockchain network linked to the well-known video game Axie Infinity.

According to the research, suspected North Korean organizations used mixing services, which enable users to conceal their activities, frequently to launder stolen crypto. Up until the US Treasury Department approved the service in August, the hackers nearly exclusively utilized Tornado Cash to conceal digital currency.

More than 82% of the crypto stolen in 2022 was attributed to targets in decentralized finance, or DeFi, a booming sector of the cryptocurrency industry, according to the research.

DeFi apps are financial platforms that allow lending in cryptocurrencies outside of conventional banks, with many of them running on the Ethereum blockchain.

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Harold

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