Last year was the worst on record for cryptocurrency heists, after hackers managed to steal 3,8 billionmillions dollars, with dominant attackers linked to North Korea, a blockchain analytics firm said in a report.
The Chainalysis report he says that hacker activity was present throughout the year, with "massive attacks" in March and October. October was even the month with the most efficient hacking attacks leading to the theft of 775,7 million dollars from 32 separate attacks.
The cryptocurrency market crashed in 2022, and investors took big losses anyway. At the same time, regulators stepped up their calls for more consumer protection.
At the time, Chainalysis and others Companies they confirmed to Reuters that accounts related to North Korea had lost millions of dollars in value.
But that didn't deter the hackers.
Hackers linked to North Korea, such as those of the Lazarus Group, were by far the most prolific cryptocurrency hackers, stealing $1,7 billion in multiple attacks last year, the report said.
"In 2022, they broke their own record for thefts."
North Korea of course denies all these claims of cyber attacks.
North Korea is increasingly using hacking and cyberattacks to finance its nuclear programs, according to a group of experts monitoring United Nations sanctions.
"Cryptocurrency hacking is an important part of the nation's economy," Chainalysis reports.
