Washington: – United Nations, jointly with a private company, has released a report that exposed that North Korean nuclear and missile programs are being funded from earnings generated from cyberattacks and cryptocurrency. The United Nations report indicates that hackers from North Korea are stealing military secrets through cyberattacks and selling them. A study published by security firm, Chainalysis has claimed that North Korea has stolen digital assets worth $400 million from various platforms in 2021.
North Korea has drawn international attention, including the United States, by conducting seven missile tests in the first month of this year. It has triggered serious discussions on the North Korean nuclear and missile program amongst the international community and raised questions about how North Korea spends so much money on nuclear and missile programs while dependent on aid from China and food supplies from other countries.
Against this background, North Korea’s criminal activities in cyberspace have been exposed. Before this, in 2019, the United Nations had published a report indicating that North Korea spent nearly $2 billion on the missile program generated from stolen digital assets using cyberattacks. Once again, the United Nations has released a report that mentions that North Korea uses hackers to steal and sell classified military information. Although the report does not quantify the amount, it suggests that North Korea would have received billions of dollars.
The security firm Chainalysis has published an independent report regarding cyberattacks carried out by North Korea. The report has claimed that North Korea carried out seven cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges from the United States, Europe, and Asia in 2021 and have stolen digital assets worth $400 million. In 2020, similar cyberattacks were carried out, causing damage of millions of dollars.
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