While the global crypto market has continued to grow in adoption, the infiltration of bad actors has appeared to be inevitable. One of the prominent ones which is the North Korean hackers is now said to have stolen over $1 billion from the crypto industry.

According to an annual report from the United States Security Council, North Korean hackers have stolen virtual assets ranging between $630 million to more than $1 billion – a sum that is double the amount that was stolen in 2021.

Preying On The Crypto Market

With North Korean hackers preying on the crypto market while taking advantage of every little loophole discovered, the report noted, these bad actors carry out these crypto crimes via advanced scopes and techniques.

The panel stated in the report:

The country used increasingly sophisticated cybertechniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyberfinance and to steal information of potential value, including its weapons programs.

Though crypto hacks can sometimes be tracked depending on how careful or the prints the hackers left behind, however, according to the report, the basic cryptocurrency and blockchain features make it more difficult to track.

Related Reading: North Korean Hacker Attempts To Phish Euler Finance Exploiter Via Encrypted Message

“Illicitly obtained virtual assets are protected by both the anonymity of the blockchain and the intentional obfuscation of the passage of assets through cryptocurrency exchanges,” the report added.

At the end of the note, the report encouraged member countries to heed guidelines from the anti-money-laundering Financial Action Task Force in order to curb the increasing value of stolen funds in crypto. 

Interestingly, the panel further disclosed claiming that the funds North Korea stole from the crypto industry may be used to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The panel said an investigation linked to apparent exports of military communications equipment to Russia is currently ongoing. 

Meanwhile, North Korea has continued to deny any claims of wrongdoings, and as such, the sanctions the country receives have continued to accumulate.

North Korea Recent Hack

Unsurprisingly, over the past four months since the year started, North Korea has successfully made it to the news headline specifically with their prominent group called ‘Lazarus.’ As of late March, this same group was reportedly behind the Euler Finance hack.

Related Reading: DeFi Remains The Target: Hackers Stole Over $20 Million In February

As the record for hacks rooted in North Korea continues to Soar, the UN has made an effort to sanction Ethereum (ETH) addresses linked to the region’s hacker. Meanwhile, in February, both Binance and Huobi seize $1.4 million in crypto funds related to the June 2022 Harmony Bridge exploitation.

Regardless of the different news circulating in the industry, the global crypto market has maintained composure. Over the past 24 hours, the global crypto market capitalization has surged by only 0.2%, at the time of writing, with a value still above $1.2 trillion.

Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView