Chainalysis is announcing that their firm has acquired Transpose, a blockchain data and infrastructure company that makes building applications using web3 data fast and simple.
Transpose customers are able “to build snappy user experiences, power wallet applications, analyze financial activity, fulfill tax and compliance requirements, and much more.”
At Chainalysis, they believe “that blockchain is already revolutionizing the exchange of value, much like the internet did for the exchange of information.”
They are “building toward a future when all value is transferred on-chain, and every company is a blockchain company.”
They’re already “seeing companies and developers wanting to replace complicated data systems that lean on unreliable node services or incomplete data providers.”
They’re looking “for flexible, fast, and dependable APIs that can easily access precise historical and real-time blockchain data.”
The technology and team from Transpose will help “meet that demand, accelerate our roadmap, and bolster our position as the most trusted, scalable, and simple source of web3 data and apps in the industry.”
They’re pleased “to welcome Transpose to the team, and to work together with our combined customers and partners toward a more efficient, transparent financial system.”
In a separate update, Chainalysis noted that on June 1, 2023, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) sanctioned Kimsuky, “a North Korean hacking group, and included two cryptocurrency addresses as identifiers for the organization.”
Additionally, MOFA collaborated “with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and National Police Agency (NPA), as well as the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Department of State, and National Security Agency (NSA) to issue a joint advisory on related North Korean cyber espionage activities.”
Active since at least 2012, Kimsuky is “a North Korea-based cyber espionage organization that is known to have stolen technologies related to weapon and satellite development, and foreign policy information on behalf of the North Korean government.”
Kimsuky’s intelligence collection operations “have targeted governments – most notably the South Korean government – political organizations, and academic organizations.”
Additionally, Kimsuky has “used scams, theft, cryptojacking and sextortion tactics on civilians, likely for the purpose of self-funding.”
In many cases, Kimsuky has “utilized cryptocurrency in an attempt to obfuscate its transactions.”
According to Greg Lesnewich, Senior Threat Researcher at Proofpoint:
“Kimsuky operations involving cryptocurrency are reflective of the North Korean cultural tenet of ‘juche,’ or self-reliance. The operators have mined cryptocurrencies to generate and launder funds, operated semi-legitimate services to get paid in Bitcoin or Ethereum, and conducted infrequent malicious activity targeting cryptocurrency entities as well as individuals with sextortion campaigns.”
Similarly, Joseph Dobson, Mandiant Principal Analyst at Google Cloud, notes “that Kimsuky “predominantly utilizes stolen cryptocurrency to fund their offensive cyber operations… through token phishing, cryptojacking, and opportunistic wallet theft.”