The US Treasury Says North Korea’s Crypto Hacking Will Receive Priority Sanctions

• According to local media, the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence addressed potential methods to work together on sanctions against North Korea.
• On the Ethereum sidechain Ronin, which powers the well-known play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, over US$620 million in cryptocurrency was stolen in March of this year.
• According to blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, the state-sponsored North Korean hacking organization Lazarus purportedly stole digital assets last year valued at roughly $400 million USD.

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Since 2014, North Korea has been behind a number of high-profile crypto hacks. In February 2018, for example, it was revealed that North Korea had hacked Japanese exchange Coincheck, making off with over $400 million in NEM tokens. More recently, in September 2018, North Korea was linked to the hack of the South Korean exchange Bithumb, which resulted in the loss of over $30 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Brian E. Nelson, these hacks have helped to fund North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program. Nelson is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and he recently visited South Korea to meet with government officials and discuss ways to combat this threat.

During his visit, Nelson stressed the need for increased international cooperation on this issue. He also called on businesses to do their part by improving their cybersecurity practices and sharing information about possible threats.

Nelson and the representatives discussed digital assets and how they can be used in a more secure way. They also talked about ways to improve cybersecurity and prevent money laundering. Overall, the meeting was productive and Nelson believes that it will lead to better cooperation between South Korea and the United States on these important issues.

In March of this year, the Ethereum sidechain Ronin was hacked for over 620 million dollars in crypto. The Treasury and the FBI have both stated that they believe that this hack was committed by a rogue state. This is a huge issue, not just for those who lost money in the hack, but also for the reputation of cryptocurrencies as a whole.

The hack on Ronin is said to be one of the largest ever perpetrated against a cryptocurrency exchange. The amount of money stolen represents a significant portion of the total value of all Ethereum sidechains. This hack underscores the need for improved security measures for all cryptocurrency exchanges, especially those handling large amounts of money.

The hackers were able to gain access to Ronin’s private keys, which allowed them to transfer funds out of the sidechain and into their own wallets. It is not yet known how they were able to obtain these keys, but it is suspected that they used some kind of inside information or exploit. Regardless, this incident highlights the importance of preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data.

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