DPRK’s Digital Plunder: FBI Tracks Stolen Bitcoin Worth $40M

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Crypto assets are having a hard time fighting with big institutions on cyber crimes, and currency theft. The fall down of FTX, last year, and this year there is news of Illicit activities done by US exchanges like Binance, and Coinbase for mishandling customer funds. On the line, the FBI has issued a warning to cryptocurrency companies regarding recent blockchain activities linked to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). 

6 Illicit Accounts Tracked, $40M at Stake? 

The news reveals, that the Lazarus Group and APT38, which are widely associated with hacker groups, were accused of siphoning funds from various crypto projects last year. In the past 24 hours, the FBI has tracked around 1,580 bitcoins (BTC) – valued at over $40 million – stolen by the DPRK and held in six Bitcoin addresses. Notably, the FBI also believes there’s a possibility that the DPRK might try to liquidate these digital assets.

On this Private sector entities are advised to examine the blockchain data linked to the provided addresses and to be cautious against transactions related to them.

In response, the FBI stated that it will continue to combat the DPRK’s use of illicit activities, including cybercrime and virtual currency theft, to generate revenue.

Under the lens, there are several high-profile crypto heists directly or indirectly linked to the DPRK have been reported, including thefts from payment providers like Alphapo and CoinsPaid, as well as Atomic Wallet. Interestingly, the Lazarus Group’s previous attempts to move $63M funds related to Harmony’s Horizon Bridge were blocked by industry efforts, including exchanges. However, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has previously sanctioned individuals allegedly connected to the group. 

Not only that Lazarus was also linked to the 2022 Ronin Network attack, known as the biggest cryptocurrency heist to date. In this attack, the hackers managed to steal $625 million, and the FBI has established a connection between this incident and the Lazarus group.

The greatest rug pull ever raises the question of whether crypto assets can handle this expanding cyber threat.