Hackers' Group Affiliated With North Korea Steals IDR 10.6 Trillion Of Crypto Assets From Japan

JAKARTA - A North Korea-affiliated hacker group has stolen $721 million worth of crypto assets from Japan since 2017. This was reported by the Nikkei business newspaper on Monday, May 14, citing a study conducted by British blockchain analysis provider Elliptic.

The amount is equivalent to 30% of such a total loss globally, Nikkei reported.

The report comes after finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven (G7) expressed their support for measures to counter the growing threat from illegal activities by state actors, such as theft of crypto assets.

According to Elliptic, which conducted an analysis on behalf of the Japanese newspaper, North Korea has stolen a total of US$2.3 billion (Rp34 trillion) in cryptocurrency from companies between 2017 and 2022.