Blockchain data analytics firm Chinalysis has revealed that US authorities have seized $30 million worth of cryptocurrency from North Korean hackers. “This is the first time a North Korean hacking group has seized stolen cryptocurrency, and we’re sure it won’t be the last,” the company’s director of investigations said.
The $30 million cryptocurrency has been linked to North Korea.
Erin Plante, senior director of investigations at the blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis, revealed Thursday at the Axiecon event that North Korean hackers seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
“With the help of law enforcement and leading organizations in the cryptocurrency industry,” she said.
A cryptocurrency worth more than $30 million has been seized by hackers linked to North Korea.
“This is the first time a North Korean hacking group has seized stolen cryptocurrency, and we’re sure it won’t be the last,” the director emphasized.
“The seizure represents about 10% of the total amount stolen from Accie Infinity,” Plante said. To issue points and build relationships with law enforcement and industry players to freeze funds quickly.
More than $600 million was stolen from the Ronin Network, a sidechain built for the pay-to-play game, in March. Chinalysis explained that North Korea-affiliated hacking elite Lazarus Group obtained five of the nine private keys held by transaction verifiers for the Ronin Network cross-chain bridge.
The hackers then launched two withdrawal transactions, one for 173,600 Ether (ETH) and 25.5 million US Dollar Coin (USDC), which the organization said the North Korean-linked group laundered these funds using more than 12,000 different crypto addresses. – day.”
The stolen ETH coins were mixed in batches using popular mixing service Tornado Cash, Chainalysis continued. However, following Tornado Cash’s sanctions from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), “the Lazarus group has moved away from the popular Ethereum mixer, using DeFi instead.” [decentralized finance] Services can be exchanged between different cryptocurrencies within a chain hop or in a single transaction,” explained the blockchain data analytics firm.
“One of the most alarming trends in crypto-crime today is the dramatic increase in the amount of money stolen from Defi protocols, and especially chain bridges,” the director of investigations said.
So far in 2022, groups linked to North Korea have stolen approximately $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols.
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