Seoul, Dec 22 (NationPress) South Korea and the United States are engaging in collaborative research to bolster defenses against cryptocurrency theft as fears grow regarding such attacks by hackers associated with North Korea, according to officials on Sunday.
Following a recently signed technical agreement between the South Korean government and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, both nations will work together to create technologies designed to thwart cryptocurrency-targeted attacks and trace stolen assets, as stated by authorities and experts in the cybersecurity domain.
The science ministry plans to back this research through the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation until 2026, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
This initiative comes on the heels of bitcoin's recent price surge to $100,000 after last month's U.S. presidential election, which has intensified fears of increased hacking attempts aimed at seizing virtual assets.
While the United States collaborates with various nations for cybersecurity advancements, it has specifically selected South Korea for research focused on digital asset tracking technology due to North Korea being regarded as a principal perpetrator of cryptocurrency thefts.
As part of this initiative, researchers from South Korea and the U.S., including experts from Korea University and the RAND Corporation research institute, will concentrate on technologies that can prevent and trace hacking incidents involving asset theft from cryptocurrency exchanges.
They will also aim to comprehend how these hackers convert or launder the financial assets they acquire into virtual currencies through illegal ransomware attacks or other illicit methods.
North Korea has emerged as a significant actor in cryptocurrency thefts, with hackers tied to the nation reportedly stealing approximately $1.34 billion worth of cryptocurrency across 47 incidents this year, according to Chainalysis, a prominent blockchain analysis firm.
In the meantime, the head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated last month that the government must vigilantly monitor unfair transactions within the cryptocurrency market.
"The valuation of virtual assets has seen a rapid increase in a very short span, and given the extreme volatility of the market, the government needs to closely oversee potential unfair transactions," FSC Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan expressed during an interview with public broadcaster KBS.
—IANS
na/
