Cybercriminals linked to North Korea carried out at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms last year, netting some $400 million in digital assets, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. Calling 2021 a “banner year” for North Korean hackers, the Jan. 13 Chainalysis report said that many of the cyberattacks were likely carried by a group known to security researchers as APT 38, or the “Lazarus Group,” which is believed to be led by the reclusive regime’s main intelligence agency—the Reconnaissance General Bureau. “These attacks targeted primarily investment firms and centralized exchanges, and made use of phishing lures, code exploits, malware, and advanced social engineering to siphon funds out of these organizations’ internet-connected ‘hot’ wallets” into addresses controlled by the North Korean regime, Chainalysis said. After seizing the crypto assets, the hackers began a “careful laundering process to cover up and cash out,” the report said, noting a significant increase in the …