Is North Korea stealing cryptocurrency assets? Report says…

North Korea: The report also said that South Korea estimated that North Korean-linked hackers stole virtual assets worth $630 million in 2022.

North Korea stole more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year, news agency Reuters reported quoting a United Nations report. The document which is currently confidential also said that North Korea targeted networks of foreign aerospace and defense companies, Reuters reported.

Kim Jong Un: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen. (AP)

"(North Korea) used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyber finance, and to steal information of potential value, including to its weapons programmes," independent sanctions monitors reported to a UN Security Council committee as per the report.

"A higher value of cryptocurrency assets was stolen by DPRK actors in 2022 than in any previous year," it said. Earlier, North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks.

The report also said that South Korea estimated that North Korean-linked hackers stole virtual assets worth $630 million in 2022.

"The variation in USD value of cryptocurrency in recent months is likely to have affected these estimates, but both show that 2022 was a record-breaking year for DPRK (North Korea) virtual asset theft," the UN report said.

“The techniques used by cyberthreat actors have become more sophisticated, thus making tracking stolen funds more difficult,” it added.

Detailing how North Korea indulged in cyber attacks, the report said that most of them were carried out by groups controlled by North Korea's primary intelligence bureau - the Reconnaissance General Bureau which included hacking teams tracked by the cybersecurity industry under the names Kimsuky, Lazarus Group and Andariel.

"These actors continued illicitly to target victims to generate revenue and solicit information of value to the DPRK including its weapons programmes," the UN report said, adding, “Initial contacts with individuals were made via LinkedIn, and once a level of trust with the targets was established, malicious payloads were delivered through continued communications over WhatsApp.”