Recent data reveals alarming trends in the world of cybercrime. On September 14, Chainalysis, a leading on-chain analytics firm, estimated a staggering $3.54 billion in stolen bitcoin. Besides pinpointing the culprits, the report sets the spotlight on North Korea. The country is escalating its illicit activities in the cyber realm. Moreover, it appears to be joining forces with hacker groups operating through Russian exchanges.
Significantly, these unsettling revelations come from diplomatic talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. North Korea has long been under international scrutiny for its ballistic missile program. Additionally, cybercrime is increasingly becoming a major funding source for this program.
According to Chainalysis, nearly $22 million in hacked bitcoin from the Harmony Protocol moved recently to a Russian exchange. This exchange has a notorious past of money laundering. Consequently, this move significantly escalates North Korea’s and Russia’s cyber partnerships.
However, it’s more than just the international community feeling the pinch. Companies and individual investors are suffering significant financial losses. For example, according to the De, this month alone has seen seven considerable cryptocurrency hacks. Fi Rekt database. CoinEx, a cryptocurrency exchange, recently fell victim to a $52 million scam. Besides this, funds were also drained from Stake Wallet, FloorDAO, and Coindroplet protocols.
The odds of recovering stolen assets are slim, especially when dealing with uncooperative Russian exchanges. Hence, these recent activities raise urgent questions about global cybersecurity. They also highlight the need for comprehensive international regulation and cooperation in the crypto space.
Interestingly, the study indicates that the value of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers this year surpasses $340 million. This figure is significantly lower than the $1.65 billion stolen in 2017. However, this doesn’t necessarily signal increased safety or less criminal activity. More than a third of all cryptocurrency stolen this year has links to North Korean organizations, according to the Chainalysis report.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had a busy 2022, marked by audacious crimes such as the $600 million Axie Infinity robbery. While 2023 has not seen any significant hacks, experts caution that avoiding one could take the annual stolen value over the $1 billion mark.
This mounting evidence points toward a severe international issue that needs to be resolved. The cyber underworld in North Korea and Russia is growing stronger and more sophisticated. Moreover, their activities jeopardize global security and inflate the multi-billion dollar figure associated with cybercrime. Therefore, global leaders, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agencies must act swiftly to counter these escalating threats.
