Hackers from North Korea Stole$ 1.3 billion in 2024.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea—often referred to as North Korea—is reportedly responsible for 61 % of crypto stolen this year, according to Chainalysis.

” In 2023, North Korea-affiliated hackers stole approximately$ 660.50 million across 20 incidents, in 2024, this number increased to$ 1.34 billion stolen across 47 incidents—a 102.88 % increase in value stolen”, reads a recent report from major crypto forensics firm Chainalysis. This is the most money that North Korean hackers have snared in any year thus much.

The economic engagement between North Korea and Russia, according to Luis Lubeck, services project director at the crypto security firm Hacken, only makes the situation worse.

” It heightens risks by sharing equipment and knowledge, complicating identification and answer efforts”, he said. This partnership could reshape how international cyber war will take place through alliances rather than solo efforts from one state, according to the statement.

One area of the market has seen a rise in hackers from North Korea who pretend to be smart contract developers, deliberately involving hidden flaws or backdoors in the projects they work on. Thus far, in 2024, 47 tricks have been linked to North Korean hackers—equivalent to two-thirds of the full amount of crypto tricks.

Among those tricks are the$ 50 million that Radiant Capital stole from a cybercriminal with ties to North Korea who posed as a former builder and shared files with an employee to steal malware. The alleged sophistication of the malware involved was that it created a continuous macOS backdoor while still displaying a reasonable Document to the user to prevent detection.

Lubeck noted that “new techniques use AI to create fake personas ( with the development of deep fakes ), making it harder to detect bad actors” and that North Korean-linked actors are using increasingly advanced techniques. Old methods continue to be challenging, including identifying false digital identities for remote workers and detecting advanced spoofing.

According to American and international officials, North Korea is using the bitcoin it steals to fund its enhancement of WMDs and ballistic missile programs. Information from May suggest that its malware efforts account for half of North Korea’s missile system.

Lubeck suggested that a possible solution would be to” strengthen international cooperation on cryptocurrency tracking, maintain stricter KYC measures on exchanges, and increase real-time intelligence sharing.” He made the case that dodging tactic results in minimal effectiveness for sanctions.