Report: North Korea-Sponsored Hacks Comprise 65 Percent of Total Crypto Stolen

Hacker group "Lazarus," reportedly funded by North Korea, has stolen a staggering $571 million in cryptocurrencies since early 2017, a study conducted by cybercrime company Group-IB reveals.

Key takeaways from the study were published Tuesday, Oct. 16, alongside the full annual report, entitled "Hi-Tech Crime Trends."

The report, dedicated to hacks in 2017 and 2018, identifies the allegedly state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus as responsible for $571 million of the $882 million total in crypto that was stolen from online exchanges during the studied time period; almost 65 percent of the total sum.

Out of fourteen separate exchange breaches, five have been attributed to the group, among them the industry record-breaking $532 million NEM hack of Japan's Coincheck this January.

"After the local network is successfully compromised , the hackers browse the local network to find work stations and servers used working with private cryptocurrency wallets."

The report, which also includes a cybercrime forecast, predicts the number of attacks on exchanges to increase in future, as an alternative to traditional targets such as banks.

Group-IB further indicates that Initial Coin Offering platforms are prime targets for hackers, revealing that 10 percent of total funds raised from token sales in 2017-2018 were stolen.

A majority of illicit activity targeting ICOs was reportedly conducted through phishing methods, with Group-IB estimating that large phishing groups have the capacity to steal around $1 million a month.

Group-IB suggests that mining pools could prove an easy target for 51 percent attacks by state-sponsored hackers.

U.S. experts have previously alleged that North Korea is "Increasingly" turning to crypto as a tactic to circumvent sanctions, claiming that the country's government is hiring people to "Launder" cryptocurrencies via multiple wallets and exchanges, as well as so-called mixing services, with the aim of obtaining sanction-free U.S. dollars.