TL;DR:
- Norwegian authorities seized $5.9 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers. The amount is part of the exploit carried out on Sky Mavis, a technology company that develops the popular blockchain-based game Axie Infinity.
- The authorities collaborated with the FBI to track down the proceeds and prevent money laundering. The Lazarus group is behind the hacks that have caused millions of dollars in losses.
- Chainalysis revealed that North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2022, with 65% of the funds coming from DeFi protocols. The hackers transfer their stolen funds to other DeFi protocols, particularly decentralized exchanges, to swap them for more liquid assets.
Lazarus
North Korea’s notorious hacking group, the Lazarus group, is reportedly responsible for a series of crypto hacks that have caused millions of dollars in losses. The group is behind the cyberattacks on Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, and several DeFi protocols. The Norwegian police recently seized $5.9 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen by the group, making it the highest record crypto seizure in Norway. The authorities collaborated with the FBI to track down the proceeds and prevent money laundering.
could this be an image of the infamous Lazarus group?
North Korean hackers have been able to steal a record $1.7 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2022, with 65% of the funds coming from DeFi protocols. The hackers transfer their stolen funds to other DeFi protocols, particularly decentralized exchanges, to swap them for more liquid assets. They use advanced techniques to drain assets from blockchain organizations and support the totalitarian regime in North Korea and its nuclear weapon programs.
Things have not been the same for Axie since the loss of so much money
Millions have been lost
The hacks on DeFi protocols have caused millions of dollars in losses. The biggest hack occurred in the spring of 2022 when criminals stole more than $588 million worth of ETH and $25.5 million in USDC from Ronin Bridge, an Ethereum sidechain built for Axie Infinity. The FBI later determined that the Lazarus group was behind the crime. In another attack, the hacking collective was responsible for the $100 million exploit on Harmony’s Horizon Bridge.
DeFi protocols are by far the biggest victims of hacks, accounting for more than 82% of all digital assets stolen by hackers. The hackers often target cross-chain bridge protocols, which have become centralized repositories of funds backing the assets that have been bridged to the new chain. As a result, North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs rely heavily on revenue from stolen funds in crypto.
The Lazarus group’s crypto hacks have caused millions of dollars in losses and pose a significant threat to the security of DeFi protocols. It is essential to increase security measures to protect digital assets from cyberattacks. The collaboration between the Norwegian authorities and the FBI shows the importance of international cooperation in the fight against digital, profit-motivated crime.
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