Japan is preparing to urge G7 nations to launch a coordinated response against North Korea’s growing involvement in cryptocurrency theft, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expected to raise the issue at the upcoming summit in Canada from June 15 to 17.
Key Takeaways:
Japan will urge G7 nations to coordinate action against North Korean crypto thefts at the June summit. The push follows a $307M hack on DMM Bitcoin, linked to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. If adopted, it would mark the G7’s first joint response to nation-state threats in the crypto sector.According to Japanese media reports, Ishiba will call for greater collaboration among member states to improve oversight of digital asset markets and restrict illicit financial flows tied to state-sponsored hacking groups.
The goal is to address cybercrime that supports North Korea’s weapons programs and undermines international non-proliferation efforts.
G7 May Take First Joint Action on North Korea Crypto Threats
If adopted, the initiative would mark the first time the G7 formally discusses collective action on crypto-related threats linked to a nation-state.
The Group of Seven includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the U.S., and the European Union.
Japan’s renewed focus comes in the wake of a $307 million theft from DMM Bitcoin, one of the country’s largest exchanges.
Investigators from Japan’s National Police Agency and the FBI have attributed the May 2023 breach to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor, also known as Jade Sleet and UNC4899.
The hack reportedly began with a social engineering scheme, where a North Korean operative posing as a recruiter gained access to an employee at Ginco, a wallet software provider servicing DMM Bitcoin.
The operative deployed a malicious Python script that infiltrated Ginco’s internal systems. This access was later used to manipulate a transaction request, enabling the theft of more than 4,500 BTC.
Authorities traced the stolen funds to wallets operated by TraderTraitor, a group already under U.S. sanctions for its role in cyberattacks aimed at funding North Korea’s military ambitions.
The DMM incident forced the exchange to suspend operations and drew renewed attention to the vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure.
North Korea Linked to Major Crypto Hacks
North Korea has also been linked to several other major crypto heists, including those targeting Bybit, the Ronin Bridge, Harmony, and various DeFi platforms.
Global law enforcement is responding. The U.S. Department of Justice recently moved to seize over $7.7 million in digital assets tied to North Korean IT workers embedded in blockchain firms.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea signed a bilateral agreement in 2023 to enhance their technical capabilities in detecting and countering DPRK cyber operations.
North Korean cyber strategies continue to evolve. In April, Lazarus-linked operatives reportedly set up U.S.-based shell companies to distribute malware to crypto developers.
Kraken recently thwarted an infiltration attempt by a suspected North Korean posing as a job candidate.
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