The FBI on Thursday accused hackers associated with the North Korean government of stealing more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency last month from a video game company – the latest in a series of audacious cyber heists linked to Pyongyang. .
“Through our investigation, we were able to confirm that Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, are responsible for the reported March 29 theft of $620 million worth of Ethereum,” the FBI said in a statement. communicated.
Ethereum is a technology platform associated with a type of cryptocurrency.
The FBI was referring to the recent hack of a computer network used by Axie Infinity, a video game that allows players to earn cryptocurrency.
Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie Infinity, announced on March 29 that unidentified hackers stole the equivalent of about $600 million – valued at the time of the hack’s discovery – on March 23 from a “bridge,” or network. which allows users to send cryptocurrencies from one blockchain to another.
The US Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned the Lazarus Group, a vast network of hackers believed to work on behalf of the North Korean government. The Treasury has sanctioned the cryptocurrency address that was used for the Axie Infinity hack.
Cyber attacks have been a major source of revenue for the North Korean regime for years as its leader Kim Jong Un continues to pursue nuclear weapons, according to a UN panel and outside cybersecurity experts.
North Korea last month fired what is believed to be its first intercontinental ballistic missile in more than four years.
The Lazarus Group has stolen about $1.75 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in recent years, according to Chainalysis, a company that tracks digital currency transactions.
“A cryptocurrency hack is essentially a bank robbery at internet speed and funds North Korea’s destabilizing activity and weapons proliferation,” said Ari Redbord, head of legal affairs at TRM Labs, a firm that investigates financial crimes. “As long as they are successful and profitable, they will not stop.”
While the attention of many cybersecurity analysts is on Russian hackers in light of the war in Ukraine, North Korean hackers are far from quiet.
Google researchers last month disclosed two different alleged North Korean hacking campaigns targeting the media, US tech organizations, cryptocurrency and fintech industries.
Google has a policy of notifying users who are targeted by government-associated hackers.
Shane Huntley, who leads Google’s Threat Analysis Group, said that if a Google user has “any link to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency” and receives a warning about Google hacking, it almost always ends up being North Korean activity.
“It seems to be an ongoing strategy for them to complement and make money from this activity,” Huntley told CNN.
Source: CNN Brasil
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