G-7 Leaders Eye Talks on North Korea’s Crypto Hacks at Summit
Group of Seven leaders may discuss North Korea's malicious cyber activities and crypto hacks at a summit in Canada next month, according to people familiar with the plans, reflecting mounting global concerns over Pyongyang's growing online thefts.
The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said North Korea's nefarious cyber operations are alarming as the stolen proceeds have become a key funding source for the regime and its programs. They cautioned that the agenda for the summit taking place in Alberta in mid-June has yet to be finalized.
Discussions at the gathering will likely be dominated by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the trade standoff between the US and most of the other G-7 nations, the people said. Escalating worries about North Korea's malicious activities come as Pyongyang deepens its relations with Russia, providing weapons and troops for Moscow's war against Ukraine.
After repeated denials, both countries recently admitted that North Korean forces were fighting alongside Russians in the Kursk border region. This has raised concerns among international leaders about the growing threat posed by North Korea's cyber capabilities.
A Growing Threat: North Korea's Malicious Activities
Since making a splash in 2014 with an audacious hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, North Korea has built a formidable army of hackers adept as using malicious code to infect computers and demand ransom from victims, largely in the form of cryptocurrency.
The group's attacks have been devastating, with billions of dollars worth of digital assets stolen directly from cryptocurrency companies. In 2022, $1.5 billion was stolen from digital asset exchange Bybit in a single heist tied to North Korea. The illicit proceeds have helped the hermit kingdom circumvent international sanctions and fund its operations, including programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.
One of the more pressing concerns is North Korea's expansive use of IT workers abroad, who apply for jobs under false identities and send their earnings back to their country. Crypto exchange Kraken recently disclosed that a North Korean hacker had applied for an engineering role at the company.
The Scope of the Problem
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, North Korea-affiliated hackers stole $1.34 billion from digital asset companies and projects across 47 incidents last year, up from $661 million across 20 incidents in 2023.
These "IT worker schemes involve the use of pseudonymous email, social media, payment platform and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the United States and elsewhere." The US Justice Department said in a January release that these workers have been known to earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year on behalf of designated entities.
The scope of North Korea's cyber threat is alarming, with its malicious activities posing a significant risk to global security and stability. The G-7 summit may be an opportunity for leaders to come together and address this growing concern.