Nearly 60 cryptocurrency heists conducted by North Korean state-sponsored threat operations, including Lazarus Group, Kimsuky, and Andariel, from 2017 to 2023 that resulted in nearly $3 billion in losses have been subjected to a probe by a United Nations panel, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
Included in the investigated cryptocurrency attacks are almost 20 intrusions last year with losses amounting to almost $750 million, such as the $120 million, $114 million, and $110 million attacks against Atomic Wallet, Poloniex, and Alphapo, respectively. Such attacks, which were enabled by social engineering, watering hole, and spear-phishing techniques, have been primarily conducted by North Korean threat actors as an illicit revenue stream for the country, according to the UN panel's report.
Such a report also recommended that UN member countries bolster financial cyber protections and hacking group sanctions while restricting money laundering techniques leveraged by North Korean hackers.
