N. Korea confirmed behind 58 billion won Upbit hack

[Anchor]

Five years ago, a domestic virtual asset exchange was hacked, resulting in damages amounting to 58 billion won.

The police have been tracking the case through international cooperation, and it has been revealed that this hacking attack was carried out by North Korea.

Reporter Woo Han-sol has the story.

[Report]

Five years ago, the deposit and withdrawal operations of the virtual asset exchange Upbit were temporarily suspended.

Due to the hacking attack, over 340,000 Ethereum held by Upbit was transferred to an unidentified account.

At the time, this was worth 58 billion won, and at the current market rate, it amounts to 1.4 trillion won, but although the police began tracking the hackers, their identities were not revealed.

Until recently, the police, in cooperation with the FBI, continued their investigation and concluded that this hacking attack was the work of North Korea.

The hacking organizations Lazarus and Andariel, under the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau, were involved in the crime, and during the investigation, their IP addresses were identified, along with traces of North Korean vocabulary being used.

The police estimate that more than half of the Ethereum that was stolen was transferred to three trading sites believed to be opened by North Korea and exchanged for Bitcoin, while the remaining virtual assets were laundered through 51 exchanges in 13 countries, including the United States and China.

A year after the hacking attack, the police confirmed that some of the stolen assets were being held at a Swiss exchange and, through the Swiss prosecutor's office, recovered 4.8 Bitcoins, worth 600 million won, last October and returned them to Upbit.

Most of the virtual assets that could not be recovered have failed to be traced.

This is the first time that domestic investigative agencies have confirmed North Korea's involvement in virtual asset hacking.

The police shared the attack methods and security vulnerabilities identified during the investigation with related companies and financial authorities to prepare for similar hacking attacks.

This is KBS News, Woo Han-sol.