Japan Hit Hard by North Korean Hackers
Is hacking becoming a threat to the Web 3.0 ecosystem? If people keep losing money due to exploits and hacks, that's an alarming sign. 2022 was the best year for North Korean hackers since they hacked and stole $630 million to $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
According to the blockchain analytics, and cryptocurrency compliance company Elliptic, Japan lost the most due to hacking by North Korean hackers. The most concerning part is, Noth Korean hackers successfully hacked and stole $721 million worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from Japan.
The new research by Elliptic shows that North Korean hacking groups have hacked and stolen $2.3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies globally from 2017 to 2022. The first most attacked country is Japan losing $721 million worth of cryptocurrencies, the second most attacked country is Vietnam losing $540 million.
The United States lost $497 million worth of cryptocurrencies due to North Korean hacking and became the third most attacked country. The fourth most attacked country is Hong Kong losing $281 million worth of cryptocurrencies. You will be surprised to know that the $721 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies stolen from Japan is 8.8 times bigger than the value of North Korea’s exports in 2021.
If hacking continues like this, it can be a big threat. People may think twice before getting into crypto. Losing your hard-earned crypto and investments in crypto assets have terrible effects on the crypto industry. While blockchain gives the highest level of security, any bug in smart contact or vulnerability in the protocol is exploited by bad actors and hackers. DeFi protocol becomes a prime target of the hacking groups.
North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group is behind some biggest crypto heists including the Harmony Bridge hack, the Ronin Bridge exploit, and several other hacks and exploits. Hope things will get better, and hacks and exploits would be minimized in the crypto industry.
Reference: 1
Piracy is very common today, we are all exposed. The scams reach our emails, Telegram accounts, or the new modality, Minecraft mods infected with viruses.
Now is when we must be more careful. Do not share links that are not trusted. Do not open unknown emails or messages. Let alone register on unreliable pages.