North Korea is Stealing Through Cyberattacks, Experts Claim

UN experts think that North Korea is stealing millions from different financial institutions. They claim that North Korea uses stolen funds to bankroll its nuclear and missile programs. 

The experts said cyber-actors had stolen over $50 million in 2020 and 2021 from different crypto exchanges in Europe, Asia, and North America. The report quoted cyber specialists and said that an unnamed government claimed they’ve already stolen hundreds of millions of dollars.

An unidentified security firm previously said that North Korea had stolen around $400 million in cryptocurrency through seven different intrusions into investment firms.

The money was stolen using different cyber attacks and techniques. These include code exploits, malware, phishing scams, siphoning funds out of organizations, advanced social engineering, and more. 

After the money is stolen, it goes through an advanced money-laundering process before cashing them out.

Meanwhile, North Korea has continued developing the production of nuclear fissile materials even though no new nuclear tests or launches of ICBMs were reported.

Additionally, the experts in the report stated that the country had continued its efforts to seek knowledge and technology for its nuclear programs overseas. It has already threatened to lift its four-year halt on testing stronger and more powerful weapons.

Kim Jong Un’s government has remained dependent on cyberattacks as a critical revenue source, said the UN experts in charge of monitoring the sanctions against North Korea.

All of this comes at a time when North Korea evades different types of sanctions, and the humanitarian situation in the country is unknown because of the lack of information.