An FBI investigation has discovered that the North Korea-linked hacking group answerable for a infamous hack of Sony Photos was behind a theft of over $600 million in cryptocurrency final month, the FBI stated.
Round $620 million in Ethereum was stolen late final month following the hack of the favored online game Axie Infinity, which makes use of in-game tokens primarily based on the cryptocurrency. The FBI stated on Thursday that two teams linked to North Korea, formally referred to as the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), have been accountable—together with Lazarus Group, an entity believed to be behind the 2014 Sony hack.
“The FBI continues to fight malicious cyber exercise together with the menace posed by the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea to the U.S. and our non-public sector companions,” the FBI stated in a press release. “Via our investigation we have been capable of affirm Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors related to the DPRK, are answerable for the theft of $620 million in Ethereum reported on March 29.”
“The FBI, in coordination with Treasury and different U.S. authorities companions, will proceed to reveal and fight the DPRK’s use of illicit actions—together with cybercrime and cryptocurrency theft—to generate income for the regime,” the assertion continued.
The Treasury Division additionally alleged that Lazarus Group was behind the theft by including the group and a linked Ethereum handle to its checklist of sanctions on Thursday. A tweet from blockchain knowledge agency Chainalysis alleged that the replace confirmed “that the North Korean cybercriminal group was behind the March hack.”
A Treasury Division spokesperson instructed Coindesk that the division’s work with the FBI had allegedly uncovered Lazarus Group’s involvement and demonstrated a “dedication to make use of all obtainable authorities to disrupt malicious cyber actors and block ill-gotten felony proceeds.”
“There could also be obligatory secondary sanctions necessities on individuals who knowingly, straight or not directly, interact in cash laundering, the counterfeiting of products or foreign money, bulk money smuggling, or narcotics trafficking that helps the Authorities of North Korea or any senior official or individual performing for or on behalf of that Authorities,” the spokesperson added.
The Axie Infinity theft was the most important cryptocurrency heist of all time, based on a tracker maintained by cybersecurity web site Comparitech. Analysis launched by Chainalysis earlier this 12 months discovered that hackers in North Korea have been rising their efforts to steal cryptocurrency. The agency discovered that $400 million price of cryptocurrency was stolen by hackers primarily based within the nation throughout 2021, a 40 % improve over the earlier 12 months.
The 2014 Sony Photos hack uncovered confidential knowledge from the studio, together with private details about staff and their households. The hack was maybe finest recognized for a requirement that Sony withdraw its then-upcoming movie The Interview, a comedy a few fictional plot to assassinate North Korean Chief Kim Jong Un.
The hackers threatened to launch assaults on theaters and moviegoers who dared to see the movie, briefly prompting Sony to cancel its launch. The studio then reversed its determination.
Newsweek reached out to the DPRK’s everlasting mission to the United Nations for remark.
