The Response to North Korea’s Crypto Heists

"We need to think about more creative ways in order to get at the ultimate issue here, which is that they're generating revenue for their weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs." - Jessica Peck

In this episode, Ian Andrews (CMO, Chainalysis) is lucky enough to grab Jessica Peck (Senior Counsel, US Department of Justice) and Chris Wong (Supervisory Special Agent, FBI) right off of the main stage to their experiences investigating North Korea's involvement in cryptocurrency and their efforts to track and seize stolen assets.

Chris shares his journey from working on interdicting assets to diving into the world of crypto, while Jessica discusses her transition from prosecuting weapons and narcotics cases to focusing on cybercrime and cryptocurrency-related investigations.

The trio explore the tactics used by North Korea to launder money and the effectiveness of sanctions in combating these activities.  They also describe the new trends of North Koreans being unknowingly hired by blockchain companies around the world and the associated risks. 

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

2 | FBI's Involvement in intercepting North Korean mineral exports 

4 | Jessica and Chris’ background and their first crypto investigation cases 

7 | Thwarting North Korean crypto revenue and tracking and recovering stolen cryptocurrency 

11 | Tracing North Korea's cryptocurrency laundering efficacy

17 | Evaluating the effectiveness of sanctions on cryptocurrency mixers

19 | Debating cybersecurity and risk management in crypto 

25 | North Koreans being employed by crypto firms to develop smart contracts 

27 | Best practices for staying safe in crypto and avoiding costly hacks 

Related resources

Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key.

• Website: FBI: We protect the American people and uphold the U.S. Constitution
• Website: DOJ: To uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights
• Article: FBI Identifies Lazarus Group Cyber Actors as Responsible for Theft of $41 Million from Stake.com
• Blog:  $30 Million Seized: How the Cryptocurrency Community Is Making It Difficult for North Korean Hackers To Profit
• Registration: Digital premiere of Links 2024 (NYC Main Stage Content and more - Register Now!)
• Blog: International Agencies Sanction Russian National Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, Leader of Cybercrime Group LockBit, for Developing and Distributing Ransomware
• YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page
• Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain
• Tik Tok: Building trust in #blockchains among people, businesses, and governments.
• Telegram: Chainalysis on Telegram 

Speakers on today’s episode

• Ian Andrews * Host * (Chief Marketing Officer, Chainalysis) 
• Jessica Peck (Senior Counsel, US Department of Justice)
• Chris Wong (Supervisory Special Agent, FBI)

This website may contain links to third-party sites that are not under the control of Chainalysis, Inc. or its affiliates (collectively “Chainalysis”). Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein.

Our podcasts are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to provide legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Listeners should consult their own advisors before making these types of decisions. Chainalysis has no responsibility or liability for any decision made or any other acts or omissions in connection with your use of this material.

Chainalysis does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of the information in any particular podcast and will not be responsible for any claim attributable to errors, omissions, or other inaccuracies of any part of such material. 

Unless stated otherwise, reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Chainalysis. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by Chainalysis employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.