United Nations Digging Into DPRK Crypto Cyberattacks Totaling $3B

The United Nations is poised to announce an investigation into North Korean sponsored cyberattacks against cryptocurrency companies that potentially brought in around $3 billion to fund the country's illicit nuclear program.

An advance copy of the investigation report, which was provided to Reuters, said UN investigators are looking at 58 specific cyberattacks believed to have been waged by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to circumvent international sanctions against the country's authoritarian regime.

"The panel is investigating 58 suspected DPRK cyberattacks on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately $3 billion, which reportedly help fund DPRK's (weapons of mass destruction) WMD development," according to the upcoming report.

The DPRK has been under strict UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 for its "nuclear and missile activities," according to the UN.

The full UN report will be published in the weeks to come, Reuters sources said, and will include new trends in North Korean state-sponsored hacking including increased collaboration between threat groups, targeting of the defense sector, and supply chains.