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An American company that prepares financial reports accuses North Korea of being responsible for more than half of this year’s cryptocurrency thefts.
This year, 2.1 billion euros in cryptocurrency were stolen, according to . North Korea was allegedly responsible for the theft of more than half of that amount, according to one from the American finance company Chainalysis.
According to the document, the North Korea allegedly stole 1.3 billion dollars (almost 1.3 billion euros) in cryptocurrencies in 2024.
The report points out that some of the robberies appear to be linked to North Korean hackers posing as remote IT workers (technology) to infiltrate crypto and other technology companies.
In a recent case, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) found 14 North Korean nationals who obtained employment under these circumstances at U.S. companies and stole more than 85 million euros by stealing information from the owner and extorting their employers.
Overall, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers in 2024 increased by 21% compared to last year, but is still below the values recorded in 2021 and 2022.
“The rise in stolen crypto in 2024 underscores the need for the industry to deal with a threat scenario increasingly complex and evolving”, the report writes.
Most crypto stolen this year was due to compromise of private passwords — which are used to control access to users’ assets on cryptocurrency platforms.
“Since centralized exchanges generate substantial amounts of user funds, the impact of a Private password compromise can be devastating“, writes Chainalysis.
According to the BBC, the theft of cryptocurrency by North Korea is due to the fact that this country is trying to obtain money bypassing international sanctions (of which there are several).
“By promoting stronger partnerships with law enforcement and by equipping teams with the resources and expertise needed to respond quickly, the cryptocurrency industry can strengthen its defenses against theft,” the report concludes.
