Crypto hack alarms ramp up as authorities crack down after $3.7 billion stolen

The rapid growth of cryptocurrency theft over the past few years has become a major concern for U.S. authorities, who are ramping up efforts to crack down on hackers and illicit crypto schemes.

Just last year, crypto hackers managed to steal about $3.7 billion in digital assets, with North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors taking the lead as the main culprit in many of those heists, according to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company.

Although this year has seen a decline in crypto hacks compared to 2022, about $400 million of virtual currency was stolen in the first quarter of 2023, TRM Labs reported. 

Over the last few years, North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors have aggressively targeted the crypto sector, often taking advantage of an industry that is not well understood by many and not well regulated.

U.S. officials and the United Nations have reported that stolen crypto funds have become an important source of revenue for North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program. 

“The problem has gotten very big and very serious with North Korea cybercriminals accounting for about $1 billion in stolen crypto last year,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs.

“With North Korea, it is not about personal financial gain. Stolen crypto is used to fund weapons proliferation and other destabilizing activity,” Redbord said, adding that it has become a “serious national security threat.”

A top cyber official in the Biden administration also raised similar concerns regarding North Korea’s role in crypto hacks. 

Anne Neuberger, the administration’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said last year she was “concerned about North Korea’s cyber capabilities,” adding that the country uses “up to a third of [stolen crypto] funds to fund their missile program.”

Neuberger added that North Korea’s expansion of its missile testing has been a top priority for the administration, which has taken several…