Security News > 2021 > February > North Korean attacks on crypto exchanges reportedly netted $316m in two years

North Korean attacks on crypto exchanges reportedly netted an estimated $316m in cryptocurrency in 2019 and 2020, according to a report by Japan's Nikkei.

The outlet says it saw that figure in a draft of a United Nations report destined for the desk of the Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee.

The August 2020 interim report [PDF] by the Panel of Experts that monitors North Korea states: "One Member State reported that attacks against virtual currency exchange houses have produced more illicit proceeds than attacks against financial institutions."

A 2019 document suggests the rogue nation's hacking activities, including attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, netted $2b in the preceding five years.

With the likes of PayPal taking cryptocurrency well and truly into the mainstream, North Korea may find it easier to put its purloined cloud cash to work.

Much of North Korea's work is truly evil: the 2013 report into North Korea's human rights abuses [PDF] makes for sobering reading.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/02/10/north_korea_cryptocurrency/