The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations alerted crypto companies that funds associated with North Korean hacker organizations, Lazarus Group and APT38, are on the move.
The FBI said that roughly 1,580 Bitcoin (BTC), roughly $40 million at today’s price, linked to the North Korean cyber criminals were moved over the past 24 hours.
Authorities believe that the state-affiliated groups “may attempt to cash out” their holdings.
OFAC Sanctions Target Supporters of North Korean-Linked Lazarus Group
The Department of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) coordinated with South Korea to sanction three individuals that the agency said provided material support to the North Korea-based Lazarus hacking group to convert stolen cryptocurrency to fiat currency. OFAC said in its report the Lazarus Group is connected to illicit financing and cyber activity supporting the North Korean regime’s development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. Under Secretary of the Treasury for...
“Private sector entities should examine the blockchain data associated with these addresses and be vigilant in guarding against transactions directly with, or derived from, the addresses,” the alert warned.
The press release also featured the six different Bitcoin wallets that have been flagged as purportedly belonging to the hackers.
Crypto hacks and North Korea
Both organizations have been accused of a plethora of hacks over the years.
The most recent exploit was allegedly perpetrated by the infamous Lazarus group. The group targeted Alphapo in late July, a large payment processor associated with gambling sites and e-commerce platforms.
On that occasion, they managed to get away with $60 million.
A month before the Alphapo hack, Lazarus was also charged with draining $100 million in a widely reported attack on Atomic Wallet.
FBI Confirms North Korea Behind $100 Million Harmony Hack
The FBI announced Monday it has concluded that North Korean hacker organization Lazarus Group was behind the $100 million hack of Harmony Protocol last June. Over $60 million of ETH stolen during the heist was laundered on January 13, six months after the fact. That allowed the law enforcement agency to confidently identify the Lazarus Group and APT38—another North Korean cyber group—as the architects of the crime. The hackers used RAILGUN, a privacy protocol, in an attempt to obscure their tra...
The FBI also confirmed in January 2023 that North Korean hackers were likely behind last year’s $100 million hack on crypto bridge Harmony Protocol. Lazarus also made off with a breathtaking $190 million, just one month later.
Blockchain analytics company Elliptic has stated previously that the North Korean state-sponsored group is said to have stolen over $2 billion in cryptocurrency.
