The post South Korea Sanctions 15 North Korean Hackers and One Entity Over Crypto Theft Operations appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

South Korea has announced sanctions against 15 individuals and one entity from North Korea involved in cybercrimes, including large-scale cryptocurrency heists. The move comes amid rising concerns about North Korea’s use of cyber operations to fund its weapons programs and evade international sanctions. South Korea Imposes Sanctions On North Korean Hackers And IT Operatives The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea particularly disclosed in a statement released on December 26 that the sanctioned individuals are linked to Bureau 313, an organization under the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Machine-Building Industry Department. This bureau, which has been under United Nations Security Council sanctions since 2016, plays a significant role in overseeing North Korea’s weapons production, including its ballistic missile program. According to the ministry, these operatives are often dispatched to countries such as China, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, where they operate under disguised identities to secure employment in IT firms. Many of these individuals infiltrate IT networks, manipulate company operations, and, in some cases, conduct cryptocurrency thefts. One such individual, Kim Cheol-min, reportedly infiltrated IT firms in the US and Canada, transferring large sums of foreign currency back to North Korea. Additionally, one sanctioned entity is also known to send North Korean IT personnel overseas to secure illicit funds for Pyongyang’s regime and military operations. The global digital currency market cap value on the 1-day chart. Source: TradingView.com CryptoTheft and Cyber Activities Intensify Notably, the reasons behind the sanctions of these North Korean perpetrators are quite evident. Recent reports from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reveal that North Korean hackers stole approximately $1.34 billion worth of cryptocurrency across 47 incidents last year. This significant figure represents 61% of the total global cryptocurrency theft in 2023, marking a sharp increase both in terms of frequency and scale. According to the report, these…

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Filed under: News - @ December 27, 2024 2:01 am