off-the-wire

UPDATE 1-North Korean hackers stole $721 million in cryptocurrency from Japan - Nikkei

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds details, background) TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Hacker groups affiliated with North Korea have stolen $721 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Japan since 2017, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday, citing a study by U.K. blockchain analysis provider Elliptic.


The amount is equal to 30% of the total of such losses globally, the Nikkei reported. The report comes after Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement on Saturday that they support measures to counter growing threats from illicit activities by state actors, such as the theft of crypto-assets. According to Elliptic, which conducted the analysis on behalf of the Japanese newspaper, North Korea has stolen a total of $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from businesses between 2017 and 2022.





(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Ed Osmond and Christina Fincher)

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