North Korean hackers stole over $1b worth of crypto in 2022, the highest amount on record. – UN.

According to a secret UN report obtained by reporters on Monday, North Korean hackers stole more bitcoins in 2022 than in any other year. This is another example of the hermit state attempting to circumvent international sanctions in order to generate income.

According to a UN investigation, North Korean-affiliated hackers targeted the networks of the international aerospace and defense industries last year and stole cryptocurrency assets worth between $630 million and $1 billion.

North Korea “used more advanced cyber methods to get access to digital networks involved in cyberbanking and to steal information of potential value, including for its weapons programs,” independent sanctions monitors said a UN Security Council committee.

Sanctions monitors claim that the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s top intelligence agency, was in charge of most of the suspected cyberattacks.

According to the sanctions team, the North Korean hackers Kimsuky, Lazarus, Andariel, and others followed RGB’s instructions while being monitored by foreign cybersecurity organizations.

According to the sanctions sentinels, the entities used malware via a number of channels, including phishing. One such initiative targeted workers in both governmental and commercial sector businesses across several countries.

The team started looking into allegations of weapons exports in addition to looking into the alleged export of North Korean military communications technology, according to Nikkei Asia.

North Korea is also charged with continuing to create nuclear fissile material, according to the research. According to the research, North Korea also tested 73 ballistic missiles and rockets with combined guidance systems, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Under Kim Jong-un’s direction, The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary company, has been charged by the US with buying weapons from North Korea to arm Russian troops in Ukraine.

The claim has been refuted by North Korea, and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of Wagner, has denied acquiring weaponry from North Korea.

The FBI confirmed in January of this year that the Lazarus Group, a group with connections to North Korea, planned a $100 million cryptocurrency theft on the Horizon bridge blockchain network in 2022.

By 2025, it is predicted that cybercrime will cost $11 trillion annually globally. Cybercrime is expected to cause $6 trillion in annual damages worldwide, according to a report by Purplesec US., North Korea is stepping up its nuclear testing and quickening the development of nuclear weapons despite the nation’s faltering economy.

Research conducted last week by the blockchain analytics company Chainalysis came to a similar conclusion, attributing at least $1.7 billion in stolen cryptocurrency assets in 2022 to North Korean hackers, making it the worst year ever for crypto theft.

The amount is almost four times higher than the previous national record for digital currency theft, which was more than $430 million in 2021.

The business referred to 2022 as “the greatest year ever for crypto hacking,” and the haul also represented 44% of the $3.8 billion in crypto thefts that year.