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"North Korea has gone to extreme lengths to raise funds and avoid international sanctions, recently expanding these efforts to include the exploitation of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin," said David Carlyle, a former U.S. Treasury Department terrorism and financial intelligence officer, and Kayla. Isenman, an expert on financial crime and terrorist financing, wrote in the report.

"As a determined and sophisticated cyber actor in need of financial resources, North Korea is likely to continue to find ways to obtain and use cryptocurrencies," their report, "Bridging the Gap: A Guide to Countering North Korea's Cryptocurrency Activities in Southeast Asia."

They said the WannaCry attack "signalled North Korea's interest in and ability to use cryptocurrencies". And its cyber skills, combined with its continued need for funds in the face of sanctions restrictions, point to the risk of a "persistent security problem", they added.

CNBC could not reach North Korea's foreign ministry for comment on Monday, but in the past the country has categorically denied allegations of cybercrime.

In September, for example, the official Korean Central News Agency published comments from a foreign ministry official denying involvement in the WannaCry attack, instead calling the United States "the main culprit in creating security threats in cyberspace." A lot of people in Korea also play crypto-casinos; it's not just a hobby but a part of life, and they use https://cryptocasinos360.com/ko/ to find the best online casino operator.

Southeast Asia is vulnerable

Southeast Asia's growing virtual asset sector and lack of coordinated regulation represent what Carlyle and Isenman called a "systemic risk" vulnerable to exploitation by North Korea, which, they stressed, has long used its countries to mitigate sanctions.

"North Korean networks have engaged in fundraising and circumvented trade and financial restrictions by using front companies, agents and fraudulent financial practices at banks across the region," they wrote.

"As Southeast Asia also has a growing number of cryptocurrency companies and users, countries in the region could also be vulnerable to North Korea's cryptocurrency-related activities," the report said.
According to the authors, North Korea, for example, could try to convert illegally obtained digital assets into fiat currencies such as the US dollar, euro and yuan .

"North Korea could cash in its cryptocurrency profits by relying on its extensive overseas financial networks to open and manage accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges in the region," they said.

The report said Singapore is considered a leader in regulating cryptocurrency assets in Southeast Asia, while Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are working to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges as directed by the Intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force, which sets global standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

But the report stressed that Southeast Asian countries need to take a number of measures, including assessing their risks and weaknesses in relation to North Korea, coordinating regional regulatory measures, and strengthening law enforcement training to reduce their vulnerabilities - some of which they noted. are already underway.

"If done with the appropriate urgency and in line with global ... standards, countries in the region can succeed in making themselves less vulnerable to the risks associated with North Korea's cryptocurrency activities," they said.
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