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When it comes to cybercrimes, North Korean cybercriminals and the Lazarus Group come to mind. The number of cryptocurrency attacks carried out by individuals and groups included in this definition reached a relatively high number in 2023 compared to 2022. In addition, according to a statement made by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis on January 24, 2024, despite major attempts in 2023, there was a decrease of over 40% in the amount of stolen cryptocurrency.
North Korean Hackers and Recent Events
In 2023, the total value of the cryptocurrency attacks carried out by North Korean computer hackers, which consisted of 20 attacks, was around 1 billion dollars.
In addition, despite fewer attempts in 2022, these computer hackers, known to be North Korean, had seized over 1.7 billion dollars in cryptocurrency. The culprits behind these endeavors were none other than the infamous Lazarus Group.
The Lazarus Group, possibly the world’s largest cryptocurrency criminals from North Korea, is known for holding a significant amount of TRON. According to a report published on September 26, 2023, a wallet with 137 million TRX attracted market attention as a TRON whale in 2023.
This team, in addition to TRON, has accumulated over 40 million dollars in Bitcoin (BTC) alone, reflecting the magnitude of the heists they have committed.
Besides, the significant decrease in stolen funds in 2023 related to the endeavors of the Lazarus Group reflects the advancements in the security of cryptocurrencies with each passing day.
According to a statement by Chainalysis, a significant decrease was observed in attacks, especially those targeting DeFi protocols. When compared to the 3.1 billion dollars stolen in 2022, the 1.1 billion dollars stolen in 2023 represented a 64% decrease.
Furthermore, the vice president of research at Chainalysis said:
There were some positive aspects that began to slow down their success in taking away hundreds of millions of dollars in a single attack.
North Korean Pirates and Russian Exchanges
According to a September 2023 report by Chainalysis, since 2021, North Korean computer hackers have been laundering the cryptocurrencies they seized by visiting Russian cryptocurrency exchanges.
The same report also mentioned that the North Korean computer hackers transferred the 21 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency they stole in the Harmony Bridge incident to Russian exchanges, which are said to facilitate illegal financial transactions.
