But that did not deter hackers.
North Korea-linked hackers such as those in the
cybercriminal syndicate Lazarus Group have been by far the most
prolific cryptocurrency hackers, stealing an estimated $1.7
billion worth of in multiple attacks last year, the report said.
"In 2022, they shattered their own records for theft," it
said.
North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other
cyberattacks.
According to a panel of experts monitoring United Nations
sanctions, North Korea has increasingly relied on hacking to
fund its missile and nuclear weapons programmes, particularly as
publicly declared trade dwindled under sanctions and COVID-19
lockdowns.
"It isn’t a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a
sizable chunk of the nation’s economy," Chainalysis said.
For the first time last year, U.S. law enforcement seized
$30 million in stolen funds from North Korea-linked hackers.
"These hacks will get harder and less fruitful with each
passing year," Chainalysis predicted.
Targets in "decentralized finance" or DeFi, a thriving
segment in the cryptocurrency sector, accounted for more than
82% of the cryptocurrency stolen in 2022, the report said.
DeFi applications, many of which run on the Ethereum
blockchain, are financial platforms that enable
crypto-denominated lending outside of traditional banks.
Last year saw a record amount of crypto transactions related
to illicit activity overall, reaching $20.1 billion, Chainalysis
said in January.
(Reporting by Josh Smith, Editing by Louise Heavens)
