North Korea’s Lazarus Group has moved $63.5 million of the crypto funds it stole from the Harmony Bridge hack last year. The group continues to utilize new methods to exploit and pilfer the vulnerable DeFi sector.
Lazarus Group, the hacking group associated with North Korea, has moved $63.5 million from the Harmony Bridge hack it was responsible for last year.
Reports have emerged online that the hacking unit moved the funds through the privacy platform Railgun before depositing the obfuscated funds on three different exchanges.
There are over 350,000 addresses associated with the 41,000 ETH transfer, which took place on Jan.13. This is a small figure in the group’s overall collection from thefts, which amounts to about $620 million in 2022 alone.
The group was also responsible for the infamous hack of Ronin Bridge, which saw a whopping $600 million stolen. Such incidents have led governments and crypto platforms to pay much more attention to security, particularly in the case of crypto bridges.
There is no reason to think that Lazarus Group will stop its attacks any time soon. Crypto entities have been wary of a repeat of 2022, while governments are redoubling their focus on crypto regarding sanctions.
Kaspersky: Lazarus Group Impersonating VC Firms
Lazarus’ continued attempts at attacking the market are backed up by a few startling reports published recently. Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky stated that the group is impersonating venture capitalists to invest in crypto startups.
Kaspersky revealed that the group created fake websites for venture capital companies and banks to win crypto startups over. The Lazarus Group is using malware to attack various elements of companies in the industry, according to the cybersecurity firm.
Reports of North Korea attacking crypto businesses date back to 2020. The industry is bolstering itself for better protection, but its nature means that there are several easy targets for hackers. The country is using funds from crypto hacks to develop nuclear weapons.
CertiK’s Web3 Security Report: 2022 All-Time High for Stolen Crypto
Blockchain security firm CertiK recently released its 2022 Web3 Security report, offering some insight into the security events of 2022. It noted that last year was the “worst year on record in terms of value lost from Web3 protocol.”
Bridge attacks have been a particularly favored attack method, with nine such incidents representing over one-third of the total value lost. This year, the total value lost from hacks, exploits, and scams was $3.7 billion — an all-time high. On a positive note, white hat hackers saved over $20 billion in potential losses in 2022.
Disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.
Source: https://beincrypto.com/north-koreas-lazarus-group-moves-63-5m-in-crypto-stolen-from-harmony-bridge-hack/