North Korean hackers stole $721 million in cryptocurrency from Japan

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Hacker groups associated withNorth Korea stole $721 million in cryptocurrency from Japanese entrepreneurs from 2017 to January 1, 2023, according to an Elliptic study published by the Nikkei agency.

The amount is 30% of the totallosses from the actions of hackers from the DPRK around the world. The publication's analysts believe that Pyongyang is targeting the crypto assets of other countries in order to obtain foreign currency that can be used to develop its missile program. This, in turn, could threaten the security of all of Asia.

North Korea uses two main typescyber attacks: hacker attacks and ransomware. Elliptic's analysis mainly revealed hacking attacks - theft directly from cryptocurrency exchanges. North Korea is focusing its efforts on direct attacks on exchanges because a single successful hack could yield huge amounts of crypto assets, analysts say.

According to Elliptic, from 2017 to the end of 2022North Korea has stolen a total of $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency across the planet. Japan accounts for the largest portion of the amount, followed by Vietnam ($540 million), the United States ($497 million) and Hong Kong ($281 million).

Hackers are targeting Japan and Vietnam becauseThe cryptocurrency markets here are expanding rapidly, and the security of many operators is weak. At least three Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges were hacked by North Korean hackers between 2018 and 2021, according to a person familiar with the situation. 

North Korean hackers have been working for a long timecryptosphere - they hack protocols and steal digital assets. In February, the United Nations presented a report to the North Korea Sanctions Committee that found North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than in any other year.