A panel of experts has told the United Nations Security Council that North Korea stole more than half a billion dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from online trading platforms during 2017 and 2018, and used blockchain technology to cover its tracks. The thefts were part of a wider hacking campaign against financial institutions in other countries.
Operation evade sanctions: According to the panel, the attacks were launched by a specialized force inside the North Korean military that has become an important part of the government’s policy as it faces strict economic sanctions over its nuclear program. State-sponsored hackers waged cyberattacks on a number of overseas financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, amassing $670 million in total.
Magic internet money laundering: We should not be surprised that state-sponsored hackers have moved into crypto. According to Nikkei, which obtained a copy of the report, the UN panel said cryptocurrencies have given North Korea a new way to get around sanctions, since “they are hard to trace, can be laundered many times and are independent from government regulation.”
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