North Korea Is Stealing Your Crypto To Fund Its Ballistic Missile Program

A confidential United Nations report has revealed that North Korea has been using the crypto funds stolen from exchanges to finance its weapon development, according to Reuters.

Crypto Thefts Used To Finance Nukes

The report that was submitted to the North Korea sanctions committee of the U.N. Security Council on Friday was prepared by independent experts who have been monitoring the situation in recent months.

The experts said that between 2020 and mid-2021, cybercriminals amassed over $50 million worth of digital assets mainly from hacking at least three crypto exchanges in Asia, Europe, and North America. 

The report also cited a study released by research firm Chainalysis last month, which noted that North Korean cyber attackers accumulated approximately $400 million worth of crypto assets in the previous year. Similarly in 2019, the rogue state had raked in roughly $2 billion from the nefarious activities. North Korea has subsequently channeled the stolen funds to its nuclear and missile program.

With the hermit state currently under punishing economic sanctions, it has limited income sources. Moreover, illegal revenue streams like smuggling illicit luxury commodities across the border have been hampered by the COVID-19 crisis. North Korea has thus turned to crypto to advance the development of its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program.

All this comes as North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un pledges to expand the nation’s nuclear arsenal despite the sanctions — executing nine missile tests in recent weeks.

The Lazarus Group

North Korea’s use of state-of-the-art technology to skirt the harsh sanctions imposed on Kim Jong-un’s regime is well documented.

That being said, we can’t mention crypto crime in North Korea without highlighting the most prominent state-sponsored cybercrime organization, the Lazarus Group. According to Chainalysis, this notorious hacking group has stolen and laundered more than $200 million in digital assets every year since 2018.

Lazarus’ targeting of cryptocurrency exchanges is no accident. This is due to the pseudonymous nature of crypto that makes it pretty difficult to pin the blame on North Korea.

It is believed that the cash-strapped nation is shifting its focus to Monero, a privacy coin that makes it extra hard for anyone to trace who is sending or receiving funds on the blockchain.