North Korean Cybercriminals Lazarus Squad Successfully Swindled $3 Billion in Cryptocurrency
Let me spill the beans - The notorious Lazarus Group, with shady ties to North Korea, has been getting away with stealing a whopping $3 billion in digital currency over the past six years, as per a report by cybersecurity gurus at Recorded Future.
The bombshell report, dropped on a Thursday, exposes that in 2022 alone, they swiped a staggering $1.7 billion in digital coins, presumably to fund North Korean pet projects.
Data analytic wizards over at Chainalysis point out that out of this grand total, around $1.1 billion were pilfered from burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) networks. A September report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also put the spotlight on Lazarus's sneaky exploitation of DeFi systems.
In a move to curb these unruly activities, the U.S. Treasury Department slapped on new fines against North Korea's cyber scheme, tagging 'Sinbad' as a designated target on their sanctions list. Sinbad has been implicated in laundering the Lazarus Group's stolen booty.
Lazarus Group is well-known for its knack for cryptocurrency robberies. Way back in 2016, they reportedly infiltrated the Bangladesh Central Bank's coffers, snatching $81 million. In 2018, they hacked Coincheck, a Japanese crypto exchange, and helped themselves to $530 million, and they even brazenly targeted the Central Bank of Malaysia, pilfering $390 million.
Dig deeper: *North Korean Hackers Could Unload $40M in Bitcoin*
This juicy scoop first appeared on our Korean site.
- The Lazarus Group, notoriously linked to North Korea, is likely to have accumulated a significant amount of Bitcoin from their digital currency thefts, given their track record in cryptocurrency mining.
- The cybersecurity breaches by the Lazarus Group have extended to Decentralized Finance (DeFi), with an analytic report suggesting around $1.1 billion worth of crypto was plundered from DeFi networks in 2022 alone.
- As the Lazarus Group continues to exploit DeFi systems, cybersecurity experts are urging enhanced focus on blockchain technology to bolster the security defenses of cryptocurrencies and DeFi platforms.
- In recent years, the Lazarus Group's crypto thefts have stretched beyond digital coins, reaching into the realm of investment strategies, raising questions about the safety and liability of investing in Decentralized Finance and cryptocurrencies.
- The U.S. Treasury Department's recent designation of 'Sinbad' as a sanctioned target underlines the impact that North Korea's cyber schemes, including Lazarus Group's activities in mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, have on global finance and cybersecurity.
- Amidst increased scrutiny, the financial industry is actively working to combat cybersecurity threats posed by groups like the Lazarus Group, in an effort to protect the integrity and stability of both traditional and Decentralized Finance.
- As we dig deeper into the intricate world of Decentralized Finance and cryptocurrencies, it becomes clear that investments in these sectors require a heightened awareness of cybersecurity risks, underlining the urgent need for more stringent analytic and technology-driven safeguards.
