Forwarded message:
From: Monty Solomon <[email protected]>
To:
Subject: How North Korea became a mastermind of crypto cybercrime
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2022 23:57:34 -0500
How North Korea became a mastermind of crypto cybercrime
Cryptocurrency theft has become one of the regime’s main sources of
revenue.
Created by a Vietnamese gaming studio, Axie Infinity offers players
the chance to breed, trade, and fight Pokémon-like cartoon monsters
to earn cryptocurrencies including the game’s own “Smooth Love
Potion” digital token. At one stage, it had more than a million
active players.
But earlier this year, the network of blockchains that underpin the
game’s virtual world was raided by a North Korean hacking syndicate,
which made off with roughly $620 million in the ether cryptocurrency.
The crypto heist, one of the largest of its kind in history, was
confirmed by the FBI, which vowed to “continue to expose and combat
[North Korea’s] use of illicit activities—including cybercrime and
cryptocurrency theft—to generate revenue for the regime.”
The successful crypto heists illustrate North Korea’s growing
sophistication as a malign cyber actor. Western security agencies and
cyber security companies treat it as one of the world’s four
principal nation-state-based cyber threats, alongside China, Russia,
and Iran.
According to a UN panel of experts monitoring the implementation of
international sanctions, money raised by North Korea’s criminal
cyber operations are helping to fund the country’s illicit ballistic
missile and nuclear programs. Anne Neuberger, US deputy national
security adviser for cyber security, said in July that North Korea
“uses cyber to gain, we estimate, up to a third of their funds for
their missile program.”
Crypto analysis firm Chainalysis estimates that North Korea stole
approximately $1 billion in the first nine months of 2022 from
decentralized crypto exchanges alone.
...
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/11/how-north-korea-became-a-mastermind-of-crypto-cyber-crime/
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