Crypto thefts hit record US$3.8 billion in 2022, with North Korean hackers responsible for nearly half

Thieves stole a record US$3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2022 as sanctions on North Korea drove a surge in suspected hacking by the Asian nation.

Overall crypto losses increased from US$3.3 billion stolen in 2021, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis Inc said in a report published Wednesday. Hacking groups that US officials have linked to the North Korean government stole an estimated US$1.7 billion in 2022 and up from roughly US$400 million last year, according to the firm.

North Korean hackers have increased their focus on the cryptocurrency sector as a means to raise revenue in the face of international sanctions, according to US officials. Fraudsters have used a range of tactics, from posing as non-North Koreans in job interviews to deploying ransomware, in order to generate revenue, researchers have found. Anne Neuberger, US deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, said in July that money stolen via hacking makes up roughly one-third of the funding for Pyongyang’s weapons development programs.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation last week blamed two North Korean cybercrime groups for stealing US$100 million in a heist in June last year at the Harmony Bridge crypto service. The Lazarus Group, a specialized hacking unit that the FBI previously said is associated with North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, also stole roughly US$600 million in March from a blockchain network connected to Axie Infinity, a popular video game, US officials said.

Investigators later said they had recovered some US$30 million that was stolen in the Axie Infinity theft, in what Chainalysis said was the first-ever seizure of funds stolen by hackers with links to North Korea.