North Korean-backed hackers stole at least $659 million in multiple cryptocurrency heists in 2024, while simultaneously stealing internal It is said that IT personnel were also dispatched to infiltrate blockchain companies as a threat. .
The announcement marks the first official confirmation that North Korea was behind the $235 million hack of WazirX, India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, in July. Due to a data breach in July 2024, WazirX was forced to cease trading and subsequently reorganized the company.
Other large-scale attacks included $308 million stolen from Japan's DMM Bitcoin, $50 million each from Upbit and Radiant Capital, and $16.13 million from Rain Management, according to a joint statement. That's what it means.
According to the statement, Lazarus Group, a known threat group of North Korean hackers, carried out social engineering attacks and introduced crypto-stealing malware like TraderTraitor to infiltrate exchanges, as well as North Korean IT employees. They are said to have infiltrated the company by having employees pose as job seekers. statement.
“The United States, Japan, and South Korea should provide the private sector, particularly blockchain and freelance labor industry organizations, with better information on cyber threat mitigation measures and inadvertently hire North Korean IT workers.” “We recommend that these recommendations and announcements be thoroughly considered to reduce the risks,” the government said.
A previous UN report estimated that North Korea stole $3 billion in cryptocurrencies between 2017 and 2023 to fund its sanctioned nuclear weapons program. According to recent data from Chainalysis, North Korean hackers accounted for 61% of all cryptocurrencies stolen in 2024, totaling $1.34 billion.