"North Korea Makes 50% of Income from Cyberattacks: Report"

The US has recently claimed that the North Korean regime makes around half of its foreign-currency income from cyberattacks on cryptocurrency and other targets.  It was noted that the amount of cyberattacks directed by the hermit nation had risen sharply since 2018, in lockstep with its nuclear and missile programs.  The US is working closely with South Korean allies and other partners and allies worldwide to try to combat the cyberattacks.  South Korea claims the Kim Jong-un regime employs around 10,000 operatives to support an expansive campaign of financially motivated cyberattacks.  Thousands more IT workers are sent abroad with false documentation to work as freelancers in developed economies.  North Korean hackers have been blamed for some of the biggest ever heists of cryptocurrency, including the $620m stolen from Sky Mavis’ Ronin Network last year and the $281m taken from KuCoin in 2020.  They are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to get what they want.  A 2019 UN estimate claimed North Korea had amassed as much as $2bn through historic attacks on crypto firms and traditional banks.

Infosecurity reports: "North Korea Makes 50% of Income from Cyberattacks: Report"