The FBI’s announcement of North Korean groups’ involvement in the theft of $100 million from US crypto firm Harmony’s Horizon bridge is a reminder of the ongoing threat of state-sponsored hacking and cybercrime.
These two groups, “the Lazarus Group” and “APT38”, have been linked to several high-profile cyber attacks in the past. For example, the Lazarus Group was behind the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, which crippled hundreds of thousands of computer systems around the world. The National Health Services of England and Scotland, FedEx, the University of Montreal, and Honda were also affected in the 2017 attack.
Talking about the recent one, it has been found out that they used a privacy protocol called Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of ethereum stolen during the June heist. The funds were then sent to virtual asset providers and converted to bitcoin.
According to FBI, this theft and laundering of virtual currency support North Korea’s ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs.
As North Korea is under heavy UN sanctions, the theft of virtual currency and its laundering is a way for the country to acquire funds in order to support its military development. The population of North Korea is already facing difficulties due to the country’s unappeasable “investment” in its military. In 2021, North Korea’s military spending accounted for around 24 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The nation ranks first in terms of military spending as a percentage of GDP.
