North Korean crypto hacking: Separating fact from fiction

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is widely considered to be a state sponsor of cryptocurrency hacking and theft.

That North Korean hackers stole nearly $250 million from two crypto exchanges, the total figure may not be as high, adding: "Given Kim Jong Un's recent public admission of the country's dismal economic situation, $1.5B strikes me as an overestimate."

It's not very clear how exactly those North Korean hacking groups organized and where they are based, as none of the reports paint a definitive picture.

Most recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that a new DPRK-sponsored hacking group, BeagleBoyz, is now active on the international scene.

Crypto industry job seekers also appear to be under threat as according to a recent report, the hackers are using LinkedIn-like emails to send fake job offers.

According to Kennedy, DPRK-linked hacking groups are indeed becoming more sophisticated at hacking and laundering: "Specifically, these cases highlighted their use of"chain hopping," or trading them into other cryptocurrencies such as stablecoins.

"The North Koreans have been allegedly attracting students from universities. In addition, some of the North Korean hackers were recruited while working for IT companies in other countries. For example, Park Jin Hyok, an alleged member of the Lazarus APT wanted by the FBI, worked for the Chosun Expo IT company based in Dalian, China."

Addressing the question of how the set cyber force is organized and where it's based, she also agreed that most hackers would be stationed around the world "Given the limited bandwidth in North Korea."

Jefferies also believes that "North Korean hackers are based all around the world - a privilege afforded to very few in the country," also adding that in most cases, hacks attributed to North Korea are not conducted by hackers-for-hire.

Perhaps more worryingly, is that, according to several commentators cited in this article, the hacking groups that seem to be backed by the North Korean regime continue to expand and branch out their operations since their methods are proving to be exceedingly successful.