Lazarus Group: North Korean Hackers Swipe $3B in Crypto

• North Korean Hacker Group, Lazarus, Accused of Crypto Theft Worth $3 Billion
• Lazarus Group's Activities in 2022
• Exploitation of DeFi Protocols
• Introduction of New Sanctions by U.S. Treasury Department
• Cryptocurrency Laundering Through Sinbad's Mixer Services
• Lazarus Group's Notorious Hacking Exploits
• Conclusion

North Korean Hacker Group, Lazarus, Accused of Crypto Theft Worth $3 Billion

Cybersecurity firm, Recorded Future, implicates Lazarus Group, a hacker organization linked to North Korea, in a six-year cryptocurrency theft operation amassing to $3 billion. The findings were released in a report on Thursday.

Lazarus Group's Activities in 2022

Recorded Future's report disclosed that Lazarus Group has stolen approximately $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency in 2022 alone. The stolen funds are suspected to finance North Korean initiatives. Chainalysis, a blockchain data analysis firm, deduces that $1.1 billion of the total amount was siphoned from decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

Exploitation of DeFi Protocols

An earlier report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under its Analytic Exchange Program (AEP) emphasized Lazarus Group's persistent manipulation of DeFi protocols.

Introduction of New Sanctions by U.S. Treasury Department

In the wake of these revelations, the U.S. Treasury Department enforced new sanctions against North Korea's cyber activities. A node by the name 'Sinbad' was added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's specially designated sanctions list for its role in laundering the cryptocurrencies purloined by Lazarus Group.

Cryptocurrency Laundering Through Sinbad's Mixer Services

The Lazarus Group is suspected of using Sinbad's mixer services to obscure the origins of the stolen funds. These mixers disguise individual transaction histories by intermingling multiple users' transactions.

Lazarus Group's Notorious Hacking Exploits

Lazarus Group is infamous for fund theft. In 2016, they breached the security of Bangladesh Central Bank and stole $81 million. They also hacked Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck in 2018, diverting $530 million, and attacked the Central Bank of Malaysia, taking $390 million.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the increasing threat posed by state-sponsored cybercrime syndicates like Lazarus Group. Their expertise in exploiting loopholes in cyberinfrastructure, especially in the burgeoning field of decentralized finance, points to the need for more robust cybersecurity measures in the sector.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker