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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] With the soaring value of virtual assets, including Bitcoin surpassing $100,000, cyberattacks targeting these assets are expected to increase. In response, South Korea and the United States are joining forces to track the flow of stolen assets from such hacking attempts.
According to industry sources on Sunday, the two nations are collaborating on the development of technologies to prevent cyberattacks on virtual assets and trace the stolen funds. The collaboration is based on a technical appendix for joint cybersecurity research signed recently between the South Korean government and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with the Ministry of Science and ICT's Information and Communications Planning and Evaluation Agency supporting the research and development through 2026.
Research institutions involved include Korea University, MITRE (a U.S. Department of Homeland Security-affiliated software security evaluation organization), and the RAND Corporation.
The research aims to develop technologies to prevent and track activities where hackers steal virtual assets from exchanges, and uncover the laundering process where stolen financial assets are converted into virtual currencies, often using ransomware.
Notably, North Korea has been heavily involved in virtual asset theft, prompting the U.S. to collaborate with South Korea on digital asset tracking technologies. According to blockchain data analysis and security firm Chainalysis, North Korean-linked hackers have stolen a record $1.34 billion worth of virtual assets from 47 incidents this year alone, accounting for 60.9% of the global cryptocurrency platform thefts.
Additionally, the joint research team is working on developing technologies to monitor Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) transactions and trace criminal activities involving CBDCs in preparation for their potential introduction by governments in South Korea, the U.S., and beyond.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
