News North Korea's Cyber Heist: DPRK Hackers Stole $600 Million in Cryptocurrency in 2023

[Long_Lion]

In 2023, hackers associated with North Korea, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), managed to steal at least $600 million worth of cryptocurrency. According to TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics firm, this accounted for nearly a third of all funds stolen through crypto attacks that year, despite a 30% decrease compared to the $850 million stolen in 2022.
Interestingly, the hacks carried out by the DPRK were found to be ten times more damaging on average than those not linked to North Korea. Moreover, there are indications that additional breaches targeting the cryptocurrency sector towards the end of 2023 could raise the total amount stolen to around $700 million.
It is worth noting that North Korean state-sponsored actors have a history of targeting cryptocurrency companies. Since 2017, they have managed to steal approximately $3 billion through such attacks. These financially motivated activities serve as an important source of revenue for the nation, particularly as it faces economic sanctions. The stolen funds are believed to contribute to the funding of their weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs.

The hackers from North Korea use tricks to fool people and try to get their secret codes and passwords that protect their digital money. They use these codes to take control of the money and move it to their own accounts. They then trade the money for other types of money and convert it to real cash using special brokers.
Even after the government tried to stop them, the hackers from North Korea found new ways to hide their tracks and move the stolen money. They have stolen a lot of money, almost $1.5 billion, in just the past two years. This shows that we need to always be careful and come up with new ways to protect our money from these hackers.