Researchers have alerted the globe to hackers from North Korea targeting high-net-worth crypto holders.

According to them, targeting high-net-worth crypto holders has helped North Korean hackers steal more than $2 billion (£1.49 billion) so far this year.

They noted that the thefts were a record for the regime-linked hackers, who now account for about 13 per cent of North Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to United Nations estimates.

The BBC noted that for the last few years, operatives from hacking teams like Lazarus Group had focused on attacking cryptocurrency companies for large thefts of digital tokens.

But investigators at research firm Elliptic warned that crypto-wealthy individuals had become increasingly attractive targets as they often lacked the security measures employed by businesses.

Accordingly, Western security agencies claimed that stolen funds are used to finance North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs.

Chief scientist at Elliptic, Dr Tom Robinson, said the targeting of individuals, which is less likely to be disclosed, means the true figure for hacks carried out by North Korea could be even higher.

North Korea’s UK embassy was approached for comment, but did not immediately respond. Previously, the regime has denied any involvement in hacks.

Elliptic and other companies like Chainalysis are able to track the movement of stolen funds like Bitcoin and Ethereum by following the public list of transactions on the block chain.

Over the years, researchers have noticed patterns in methods and tools favoured by North Korean hackers.