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North Korea secures money for nuclear development by hacking DeFi service

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The U.S. Treasury Department announced on the 6th (local time) that North Korea is using vulnerabilities in decentralized finance (DeFi) to steal cryptocurrency assets, and is carrying out various cybercrimes, Voice of America reported.

The US Treasury Department, in its report titled “Assessment of Illegal Financial Risks Related to Decentralized Finance” on the 6th, states, “North Korea and actors such as cybercriminals, ransomware attackers, thieves, and scammers are using DeFi services to transfer and launder illicit profit funds.” pointed out.

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DeFi is an English abbreviation of ‘Decentralized Finance’, and unlike the existing financial industry in which banks provide services as intermediaries, various financial transactions are conducted without exchanges and intermediaries using cryptocurrency blockchain technology. point

While it is possible to freely use financial services free from the control and regulation of the existing financial system, unlike the centralized financial system, security is weak.

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The Treasury Department stressed that malicious actors compromised DeFi services and exploited cybersecurity vulnerabilities to steal virtual assets.

In particular, the Ministry of Finance pointed out that “North Korea, which is sanctioned by the United States, Europe, and the United Nations, is stealing more and more virtual assets through centralized ‘Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)’ and DeFi services.”

North American denuclearization negotiations

The Treasury Department said that the North Korean hacking organization Lazarus stole about $620 million (about 818.1 billion won) worth of cryptocurrency from the blockchain-based video game ‘Exy Infinity’ in March of last year, the largest amount ever stolen.

Lazarus also stole $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from Horizon Bridge, which brokers transactions in different cryptocurrencies, in June of last year, according to the Treasury Department.

The Treasury Department warned that North Korea has sent thousands of highly skilled information technology (IT) workers around the world to handle projects involving virtual assets, who are making money for North Korea’s weapons programs and could help hack and launder money. .

Source: Donga

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