A preliminary inquiry into the theft of $281 million worth of assets from a cryptocurrency exchange last September «strongly suggests» links to North Korea.

Blockchain transactions related to the hack appear to be related to a second hack last October when another $23 million was stolen, according to the report seen by «Reuters».

«Preliminary analysis, based on the attack vectors and subsequent efforts to launder the illicit proceeds, strongly suggests links to the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea],» it said.

Cyberattack Track Record

The monitors disclosed figures about North Korean cyberattacks including $2 billion generated in a 2019 report and $416.4 million from 2019 to November 2020. 

Financial institutions and crypto exchanges are both targeted with hacks that «exploited ‘defi' protocols – i.e., smart contracts that facilitate automated transactions,» the UN report said.

The timing of the hack has led some industry onlookers to believe that KuCoin is the victim of the September hack. The Seychelles-based firm has said that it magnet to recover more than 80 percent of the digital currency stolen thanks in part to the help of other exchanges that froze funds that passed through their system.