'UN Panel: N. Korea Stole Cryptocurrency via Hacking'

A Japanese newspaper cites a UN report as saying that North Korea has used cyberattacks and blockchain technology to circumvent economic sanctions and obtain foreign currency.

According to a panel of experts reporting to the UN Security Council, Pyongyang has amassed around 670 million dollars in foreign and virtual currency through cybertheft, using blockchain technology to cover its tracks.

In the report to the council's North Korea sanctions committee, the panel recommended that member nations enhance their ability to facilitate robust information exchanges on North Korean cyberattacks with other governments and with their own financial institutions to detect and prevent attempts by the North to evade sanctions.

The full report obtained by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper says that North Korean cyberattacks on overseas financial institutions from 2015 to 2018 are believed to have been conducted by a specialized corps within the North Korean military.

The panel said that virtual currencies provide the country with more ways to evade sanctions, given that they are harder to trace, can be laundered many times and are independent from government regulation.

It said the North launched successful attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia at least five times between January 2017 and September 2018, with estimated losses totaling 571 million dollars.