North Korea government was never an admirer of cryptocurrency, they should battle these criminals in the same manner that other countries who regard crypto as illegal but continue to fight fraud of any means.
It is for their citizens that they can prohibit any operations with cryptocurrency, and the government itself can willingly use cryptocurrencies in their own interests. By the way, reports of hackers who work under the tutelage of the government have repeatedly interacted with cryptocurrencies appear annually.
Quote from: https://habr.com/ru/post/522112/
The theft itself is a simple matter for hackers from Pyongyang. Another question is how to get real money later.
For many years, the Kim dynasty of North Korea made money through illegal schemes such as drug dealing and currency counterfeiting. Over the past decade, Pyongyang has increasingly turned to cybercrime, using an army of hackers to rob banks and cryptocurrency exchanges worth billions of dollars. For example, in 2018, there was an attack that stole $250 million in one go. The UN says that as a result of these actions, the regime receives significant amounts of money that it spends on developing nuclear weapons that can guarantee its survival for a long time.
However, there is a big difference between hacking a cryptocurrency exchange and getting your hands on real money. It is necessary to send the cryptocurrency, launder it so that no one can track it, exchange it for dollars, euros or yuan, which can already be used to buy weapons, luxury goods and essentials.
“I would argue that money laundering is more difficult than hacking,” says Christopher Janczewski, a leading IRS agent specializing in cases involving cryptocurrencies.
Yanchevsky is currently seeing increased activity in this area. He led investigations into a recent hack involving confirmed Twitter users, as well as the activities of the largest dark web site dedicated to child pornography. Janczewski recently became lead investigator in a case that tracked and seized $250 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen in an unprecedented string of hacks allegedly carried out by a North Korean hacking team codenamed "Lazarus Group".
And, according to him, Lazarus' tactics are constantly being improved.
For many years, the Kim dynasty of North Korea made money through illegal schemes such as drug dealing and currency counterfeiting. Over the past decade, Pyongyang has increasingly turned to cybercrime, using an army of hackers to rob banks and cryptocurrency exchanges worth billions of dollars. For example, in 2018, there was an attack that stole $250 million in one go. The UN says that as a result of these actions, the regime receives significant amounts of money that it spends on developing nuclear weapons that can guarantee its survival for a long time.
However, there is a big difference between hacking a cryptocurrency exchange and getting your hands on real money. It is necessary to send the cryptocurrency, launder it so that no one can track it, exchange it for dollars, euros or yuan, which can already be used to buy weapons, luxury goods and essentials.
“I would argue that money laundering is more difficult than hacking,” says Christopher Janczewski, a leading IRS agent specializing in cases involving cryptocurrencies.
Yanchevsky is currently seeing increased activity in this area. He led investigations into a recent hack involving confirmed Twitter users, as well as the activities of the largest dark web site dedicated to child pornography. Janczewski recently became lead investigator in a case that tracked and seized $250 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen in an unprecedented string of hacks allegedly carried out by a North Korean hacking team codenamed "Lazarus Group".
And, according to him, Lazarus' tactics are constantly being improved.
