As cybercrime continues to threaten global security, a new wave of cyberattacks linked to North Korea has been stealing headlines, with Japan being one of the hardest hit. According to a study conducted by the U.K.-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the rogue state’s hacking groups have been implicated in the theft of a staggering $721 million in cryptocurrency assets from Japan alone between 2017 and 2022.
The value of the stolen digital assets from Japan amounts to approximately 30% of worldwide losses attributed to North Korean-affiliated cyberattacks. In a grim comparison, the Nikkei Asia report highlights that this sum is 8.8 times higher than North Korea’s 2021 export figures. This drastic increase indicates a significant pivot towards cybercrime as a means of income amid stringent U.S. and United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea.
Crypto assets: A lucrative target for state-sponsored cybercriminals
Despite the international condemnation and sanctions against the Pyongyang regime, it appears that the Asian crypto market’s vulnerability has presented an enticing opportunity. Japan and Vietnam became primary targets due to their expanding cryptocurrency markets and reported lapses in their security measures.
Crypto exchanges became the main target for these organized cyber criminals, as they could potentially rake in a sizeable amount of assets with a single successful breach. This approach has paid dividends, particularly in the case of the Japanese crypto exchange Zaif, which suffered a loss of $51.4 million in 2018 and eventually had to cease operations.
The widely feared Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea, has reportedly spearheaded these cyber assaults, employing both hacking and ransomware attacks to secure the much-needed foreign currency. While ransomware attacks can yield substantial returns, hacking appears to have become the favored technique due to its efficiency and capacity to amass significant digital assets from individual exchanges.
These activities extend far beyond Japan’s borders, with the U.S. and Hong Kong also falling prey to these illicit operations. The Elliptic study estimates that these hacker groups have pilfered $497 million from the U.S. and $281 million from Hong Kong. The total global losses linked to North Korean cyberattacks amount to an alarming $2.3 billion, underscoring the urgent need for international cooperation to counter these escalating cyber threats.
As the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors recently echoed their commitment to tackling the expanding threat from illegal activities by state actors, including cryptocurrency theft, the race is on to enhance security measures and bolster global defenses against these relentless state-sponsored cybercriminals.
