North Korea has been identified as conducting multiple thefts of Bitcoin cryptocurrency in 2017. In conjunction with its identification as the actor behind the Wannacry ransomware, which was also an attempt to acquire Bitcoin, plus limited evidence of bitcoin mining, these actions indicate a major North Korean campaign is underway to acquire Bitcoin as a way to raise hard currency. North Korea was likely motivated to acquire Bitcoin, by any means, because of the currency’s rapidly increasing value in 2017, the possibility of hiding the thefts by converting Bitcoin into more obscure forms of cryptocurrency, and the convertibility of Bitcoin and these other cryptocurrencies to hard currency. While it is unusual for a nation-state to be involved in this type of theft, it is not much different from other North Korean criminal enterprises which have included cyber bank robbery, illegal weapons sales, and counterfeiting U.S. currency...READ MORE
Wapack Labs has cataloged and reported on North Korean cyber activity in the past. An archive of related reporting can be found in the Red Sky Alliance portal.
