North Korea Cracks Down on Crypto-Laundering Hackers

North Korean authorities have arrested former military hackers accused of stealing state funds from two banks and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency.

The group allegedly breached the internal systems of the Central Bank of the DPRK and Foreign Trade Bank, diverted foreign currency and state trade funds, and moved the money into overseas crypto wallets.

Chinese brokers then converted the assets into U.S. dollars and yuan, according to a Daily NK report citing an anonymous source in Pyongyang.

The group split transfers into small amounts to avoid detection and used encrypted messaging apps, unregistered phones, and Chinese wireless equipment.