North Korea stole $2bn in wave of cyberattacks, leaked UN reports reveal

Pariah Asian nation, North Korea stole an estimated US$2 billion from launching cyberattacks against banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, in a bid to fund its purchase of military weapons, reports say.

The attacks were widespread and “increasingly sophisticated”, according to a leaked draft report from the United Nations.

Pyongyang tapped the cyberspace to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges as well as to launder the stolen money, found the report, which was submitted to the Security Council committee last week.

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The report was submitted by a panel that monitored UN sanctions.

It noted in the report: “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) cyber actors, many operating under the direction of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, raise money for its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) programmes, with total proceeds to date estimated at up to US$2 billion.”

The General Bureau is North Korea’s military intelligence agency.

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