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Cryptographic theft and other forms of cyberespionage have been an important source of revenue for North Korean pirates, whose home country is in chronic financial crisis and is practically excluded from the world market.
Since 2017, North Korean pirates have stolen an estimated $1.72 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Today, this figure would only inflate the courtesy of their relentless pursuit of infiltrating more security defences and taking more money with them.
Lazarus Group and APT38, two hacking groups with ties to North Korea, were responsible for the theft of $100 million from U.S. crypto company Harmony’s Horizon bridge in June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday.
Crypto Gone: Common suspects.
Horizon Bridge, a service that makes it possible to trade crypto assets between Harmony and other blockchains, has been emptied of the ether (ETH), tether (USDT), and wrapped in Bitcoin (wBTC). Lazarus and apt38 are the more probable perpetrators.
In a press release published on Monday, FBI investigations have confirmed that the Lazarus group and apt38, cyberattackers affiliated with dprk, "are responsible for the theft of $100 million in VC from Harmony's Horizon Bridge.”
According to the FBI, North Korea is using stolen and laundered virtual money to finance its ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
A group called Lazarus. Image: BBC
In June, Reuters cited three digital investigation firms in claiming that North Korean hackers were responsible for the attack on Harmony.
News and media outlet Aljazeera claims the hackers tried to hide their financial dealings by employing the privacy protocol Railgun.
Despite this, some of the money was then blocked and recovered through trades when hackers tried to convert it to Bitcoin. The species not recovered were then sent to eleven ethereal addresses.
North Korean Hackers Strike
Multiple operations have been conducted by the North Korean hackers Lazarus Group over the years, with the majority involving disruption, sabotage, money theft, or espionage.
Lazarus is a cybernetic group that has been in operation since 2009. In 2014, the cybercriminal group pirated sony entertainment images, causing about $35 million in repairs and a massive hit of reputation.
The South Korean authorities estimate that at least 892 foreign policy professionals in South Korea were targeted by these North Korean pirates. Since April 2022, focus has shifted to focus group and university members.
Crypto total market cap reclaims the $1 trillion level on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.comLazarus has reportedly been involved in a number of significant breaches of the crypto industry, including last year's $600 million Ronin Bridge hack.
The FBI said it will continue to uncover and fight North Korean pirates and their exploitation of illegal activities in order to generate funds for the dictatorship, including cybercrime and stolen virtual money.
The United States and United Nations authorities have accused North Korea, headed by the third-generation dictator Kim Jong Un, of spearheading an expanding effort of cyber theft to bankroll its activities, including the development of long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons
Featured image from Time
