Half of North Korea’s Missile Programs Funded via Stolen Crypto

An unnamed White House official claims that cyberattacks and crypto theft have helped North Korea pay for around half of its missile testing.

According to a new Chainalysis assessment, North Korean hackers may have stolen $1.7 billion in digital assets in 2022. The Lazarus Group, arguably the most popular local hacking group, was responsible for a number of attacks last year, the most well-known of which being the $625 million Ronin Network breach.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, one of the few nations in the world with nuclear weapons, has been transforming into a military power in recent years. The Kim Jong Un regime there also makes use of every opportunity to advance its arsenal through missile development and other testing.

A White House representative recently revealed that half of those war efforts are funded by stolen cryptocurrencies or cyberattacks. The deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, Anne Neuberger, stated that Biden’s cabinet is “putting a lot of time and thought” into figuring out how “a country like [North Korea] is so darn creative in this space.”

She also asserted that US intelligence agencies are trying to identify the bad actors and trace the drained assets.

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