FBI accuses North Korean hackers of stealing $100 million in 2022 attack

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found a group of North Korean hackers responsible for the theft of more than $100 million in cryptocurrencies that occurred in 2022..

As part of their investigation, the FBI discovered that Those responsible for the attack were members of a group calling themselves the Lazarus Group.which is believed to have ties to Pyongyang.

The FBI also said they were able to discover that hackers used the Railgun system this month to launder more than $60 million of the original amount stolen. The use of Railgun was intended to try to hide the origin of the funds in a way that would make it harder for authorities to link the money to hackers.

The authorities indicated that some of the ether stolen by the hackers was sent to different platforms to be able to convert it to bitcoin.

They also explained that they continue to work to ensure that this type of attack prevents hackers from committing massive thefts, especially since they ensure that the funds are later used to “support Korea’s ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.” “.

This is not the first time the Lazarus Group has been attacked by US authorities. the same cybercriminals were previously accused by the Treasury Department of stealing $600 million incurred by the Ronin network. and that it is considered one of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history.

In this case, the authorities were able to pinpoint one of the virtual wallets that hosted part of the stolen funds. This allowed the Treasury Department to sanction him, preventing any U.S. citizen or company from transacting with said wallet.

Cybersecurity experts explain it North Korea’s insistence on carrying out these kinds of attacks is that they intend to use cryptocurrencies to try and avoid the sanctions that are taking their toll on their economy..