North Korean hackers steal 100 million won worth of Bitcoin every month, South Korean cybersecurity firm confirms

Golden Finance News - Bitcoin has made great progress compared to a few years ago, but the storage security of Bitcoin has always been difficult to achieve perfection. Over the years, there have been several Bitcoin thefts around the world, and the losses caused each time were surprising, but they all occurred in some relatively popular areas.

North Korean hackers stole large amounts of Bitcoin from South Korea every month between 2013 and 2015. Image source: Golden Finance

Today we will take a look at the mysterious Eastern country, North Korea, and see what the situation is like with Bitcoin in North Korea. According to foreign media reports, North Korean hackers stole a large amount of Bitcoin from South Korea and other regions between 2013 and 2015.

Radio Free Asia (RFA), a private, non-profit international broadcasting company based in the United States, reported last Wednesday that North Korean hackers stole large amounts of Bitcoin from South Korea and other places every month from 2013 to 2015, with the value of the stolen Bitcoins exceeding 100 million South Korean won, or about $88,000, each month.

A senior employee of the South Korean cybersecurity company Hauri told the media:

“Cybercriminals have turned to Bitcoin because it’s hard to track them. North Korea has jumped on the Bitcoin extortion bandwagon since 2012 because it’s so difficult to track criminals.”

The employee said that North Korea's bitcoin thefts against South Korea began after a political incident that strained relations between the two Koreas, when North Korean hackers quickly stole about 40 million won worth of bitcoin from South Korea. But he pointed out that South Korea was not North Korea's only target. The employee explained,

“After the political incident, Hauri confirmed that North Korean hackers received 100 million won worth of Bitcoin every month.”

The employee confirmed that North Korea's bitcoin thefts against South Korea continued until 2015. The employee speculated that North Korean hackers had now moved elsewhere.