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- 1 North Korea has been responsible for most digital attacks in the world.
- 2 South Korea is undertaking every possible step to protect its digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
- 3 South Korea plans on submitting a bill that seeks a keen watch over North Korean cryptocurrency-related activities.
North Korea stands at the top when it comes to the nations responsible for hacking and digital attacks across the globe. With time, cryptocurrencies and virtual assets became their preferred choice. But this rose as a dire concern for countries, especially with the close proximity of South Korea. To deal with the issue, the Seoul administration is preparing for an action to counter the notorious activities of the North with cryptocurrencies.
The local media outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reported that the government is up to submit a bill seeking to keep close watch over North Korean cryptocurrencies-related activities and seize the assets if needed. The step from the government comes in line with the efforts to squeeze the pipeline used to fund ballistic missiles and similar destructive weapons programs.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) brought the bill in November last year for the first time. However, President Yoon Suk Yool ordered several revisions and added amendments to increase national security. As per the president, the bill required practical steps that could lead to “bolster national security,” an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter told the media outlet.
Since then, the bill has constantly been discussed among different ministries in the South Korean government. Now after ten long months of revisions, the bill is on its way to tighten the grip of sanctions against the North.
One of the crucial implementations that the latest version of the bill considers is to track the cryptocurrency and virtual assets stealing activities done by North Korean hackers and neutralize them. The original draft did not have the provision that was added after the revisions.
The intensity of attacks from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) hackers increased in the past. South Korean intelligence agencies reported that the state-sponsored hackers managed to steal about 1.7 Trillion Won, equivalent to about $1.28 Billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The stealing was only in 2022 alone.
According to the blockchain analysis firm, Chanialysis, the hackers belonging to the rogue nation stole about $3 Billion in cryptocurrencies in the last five years.
Such incidents cause harm twice to any country, South Korea, in this case. First, it faces financial losses up front, while later it witnesses the threat of destructive weapons in North Korea’s arsenal. Reports say that about half of the funding for the weaponry programs of the country comes from stolen cryptocurrencies.
This can be seen in the pattern as the missile tests in DPRK rose in tandem with the increasing cyber crimes. The country with an authoritative regime reported to see a launch of 90 cruise and ballistic missiles in 2022. Moreover, in April 2023, it successfully tested the solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
