Hackers associated with North Korea have broken all records of theft from cryptocurrency platforms this year. In the year 2024, US$2.2 billion has been stolen from cryptocurrency platforms, more than half of which was stolen by North Korean hackers. These hackers have stolen cryptocurrency worth $1.34 billion in 47 incidents this year. This is the fifth time in the last decade that cyber thieves have stolen more than $1 billion from crypto companies.
Most of the incidents happened in the first half
Reports say that this year there has been a sharp increase in the incidents of crypto theft and now personal attacks have also started increasing. This year there have been 303 such attacks with an increase of 7 percent. Of the total theft this year, $1.58 billion was stolen in the first six months alone. Due to geopolitical reasons, there has been a decline in such cases in the second quarter of the year.
After theft, hackers take the cryptocurrency to their country through financial exchanges, mining services and other crypto mixing services. North Korean cyber thieves stole cryptocurrency worth $1.7 billion in 2022. There was a slight decline in it in 2023 and they were able to steal a little more than one billion dollars. These hackers trap their victims through special hacking tools and fake websites offering employment.
Many sanctions have been imposed on North Korea
Many types of sanctions are imposed on North Korea and its economy is in trouble. American officials said that for this reason North Korean hackers are targeting cryptocurrencies. This year, the US Justice Department had arrested 14 citizens of North Korea. These people were working in the guise of IT employees of American companies and used to blackmail the employees by stealing important information.
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