Data: North Korean hackers have stolen a total of $626 million in crypto assets this year, a record high

State-sponsored North Korean hackers have stolen about $1.2 billion in crypto assets around the world since 2017, according to data disclosed by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s Economic Daily reported. About $626 million of that was made this year alone. National Intelligence predicts that North Korea's cyberattacks are likely to increase rapidly after its seventh nuclear test sometime next year, with North Korea exhibiting a pattern of cyberattacks in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear test in response to international sanctions.