Various private corporations and the United Nations have reported that hackers from North Korea have been funnelling billions of American dollars stolen from cryptocurrency companies and banks.
As regulators and investigators have become aware of this larceny, the North Korean government has implemented ever more elaborate laundering attempts to turn the results of their pilfering into usable currency. This is according to private experts and American officials who wish to remain anonymous.
In January 2023, a squadron of spies from South Korea and private investigators from the USA teamed up. This was just days after North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea. The months previous were spent tracking US$100 million stolen from Harmony, a cryptocurrency organisation based in California, USA. The creation of the alliance aimed to catch the hackers moving the stolen cryptocurrency. The hackers did this to accounts where they converted the crypto into usable currency to fund North Korea’s unlawful missile programme.
The secret agents knew that they would have mere minutes to seize the cash before it was successfully laundered. Once laundered, it became essentially untouchable. Working out of Pangyo, South Korea, the team spotted movement of the loot. The second the hackers relinquished their control of it, the investigators pounced, flagging the transaction, and freezing the money.
The Pangyo team seized just over US$1 million in this operation. Although most of the remainder is still out of reach, vested in a range of assets and cryptocurrency in North Korean control. These kinds of manoeuvres are going to have to become the norm for America and its allies to prevent continued pilfering with malicious intent.
This sting gives the world a rare glimpse into the dark world of espionage related to cryptocurrency. It also gives us an idea of what law enforcement globally is doing to halt this type of activity. If these kinds of misdeeds continue to run unchecked, the authoritarian regime North Korea is so infamous for stands to profit in the region of billions of US dollars.
South Korea and the United States are treating shutting down North Korea’s cryptocurrency pipeline as an international security imperative. Along with stolen crypto, the regime also receives funds transferred from IT workers from North Koreans working abroad. These funds are then put to use funding its weapons programmes.
This frightening information was presented to Senior American Officials, including current President Joe Biden as part of a series of intelligence products. The North Koreans need money. A fact that will ensure that their efforts to get it not only will not cease but will become ever more creative. The search for illicit means of acquiring legitimate cash will be ongoing for an authoritarian state operating under the strictures of heavy sanctions.
The issue of North Korean hackers’ cryptocurrency grab was the main topic at a recent Seoul meeting. A joint statement was released by officials from Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The statement highlighted the North Korean dictatorship’s continued efforts to raise funding for weapons of mass destruction.
