As a seasoned cybersecurity analyst with over two decades of experience under my belt, this revelation by ZachXBT is a stark reminder of the complex and often nefarious world that exists within the crypto realm. The scale of these operations, involving North Korean developers earning up to half a million dollars monthly, is nothing short of astounding.
As an analyst delving into the intricacies of blockchain technology, I’ve recently uncovered a stunning revelation: it appears that a clandestine network of North Korean developers is raking in an estimated monthly income between $300,000 and $500,000. This income is allegedly generated through their involvement in over 25 cryptocurrency projects. The findings were brought to light by the well-respected investigator ZachXBT.
On August 15th, I took to X to unveil my recent discoveries to my 618,000 dedicated followers. Among these findings, I spotlighted the significant participation of at least 21 developers hailing from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
As reported by ZachXBT, a recent event saw a cryptocurrency project suffer a loss of approximately $1.3 million from its reserve. This unfortunate incident occurred due to malicious code inserted into the system by the developers, who concealed their true identities. The embezzled funds were then laundered through various transactions, one of which was the transfer of 16.5 Ether to diverse exchanges.
As a crypto investor, I delved deeper into the activities of these developers and uncovered their connections within a broader network. Through my own research, I traced transactions worth approximately $375,000 over the past month alone, with the total sum reaching an astounding $5.5 million from July 2023 to early 2024 – a finding that piqued my curiosity and warranted further scrutiny.
The money transactions were associated with North Korean information technology workers and individuals subject to U.S. sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Among them are Sim Hyon Sop and Sang Man Kim, who have a history of involvement in cybercrimes related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
As a curious crypto investor, I recently uncovered an intriguing piece of information: it appears that some developers from North Korea were allegedly using Russian Telecom IP addresses, pretending to be based in the United States and Malaysia. Remarkably, a handful of these individuals seem to have accidentally exposed their true identities in the process.
Despite the troubling findings, ZachXBT emphasized that not all organizations hiring these developers are at fault. He noted that a project recently discovered one of the DPRK workers in their team and took immediate action upon learning from his post.
It’s widely known that North Korea is linked to cybercrime activities, with organizations such as the Lazarus Group said to have stolen approximately $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets between 2017 and 2023. The U.S. has expressed concerns about an increasing number of North Korean workers entering freelance tech jobs, particularly in the crypto industry.
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2024-08-16 09:20