North Korea–backed crypto attacks show no end in sight
North Korean hacker groups seem to have set their sights on the crypto world.
North Korean hacker groups seem to be targeting the crypto world. According to experts, the end of the attacks is not in sight.
"It's not that someone is trying to mine cryptocurrencies in their basement," Soo Kim, a former North Korea analyst at the CIA, tells CNN. "It's more like a way of life," she says.
The country is pursuing self-sufficiency through crypto hacking because of the challenges the regime faces under Kim Jong-Un, such as food shortages and isolation from other countries. Moreover, the job as an IT expert is paid much better than other jobs in the East Asian state.
According to a Coincub study, North Korea tops the list of countries for crypto crime, followed by the US and Russia. The study found that about 7,000 hackers had pocketed nearly 1.6 billion USD for North Korea. For example, the Lazarus hacker group is said to have been behind the worst DeFi hack of all time on the Ronin Bridge. The damage: 625 million USD.
The end, however, is not in sight. North Korean hackers' methods aren't perfect yet, Kim explains, but it's also a new market for the country. Attacks could be optimized further in the future.
