US Files Legal Complaint to Recover Stolen Cryptocurrency
The US government has filed a complaint to recover $2.6 million in cryptocurrency stolen by the infamous Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group. The group, blamed for a number of cyberattacks targeting digital assets and helping to provide significant funding toward North Korea’s military ambitions, is the subject of a complaint filed in the US. District Court for the District of Columbia, represents another salvo in what has become a sustained government battle to combat the growing cybercrime scourge as attributed to nation-state actors.
Breakdown of the Stolen Crypto Funds
Two major incidents of stolen cryptocurrency are outlined in the legal complaint. The first is the $1.7 million in Tether (USDT), linked to the Lazarus Group’s November 2022 hack of cryptocurrency exchange firm Derbit, which successfully stole $28 million. The second incident is a Bitcoin theft amounting to $971,000. The incident happened in an attack on an online digital casino in September 2023 where the Lazarus Group siphoned $41 million from the casino through a bridge derived from the Avalanche blockchain network.
US Government’s battle against Lazarus Group’s Cyberattacks
These cyber heists are part of a broader strategy to funnel money into North Korea’s military programs, including its WMD initiatives. US officials have actively targeted entities that enable the Lazarus Group. In November, US Treasury sanctioned Tornado Cash-one of the most popular crypto mixing services-which has been used to launder stolen cryptocurrency by the group. These sanctions are aimed at denting the cash flow and staunching the group’s ability to fund illicit activities.
FBI Warns of Crypto Threats from N. Korea’s Lazarus Group
It has also been the case that the FBI raised alarms over the growing Lazarus Group threat to the blockchain industry. An alert released in September from the FBI noted the tactics being deployed by this particular group have become highly complex, featuring elaborate social engineering schemes to compromise networks connected with cryptocurrency assets. A warning the FBI issued expressed that even those of the greatest knowledge in cybersecurity could be vulnerable to some of the advanced strategies of the Lazarus Group.
It is an important first step toward gaining a hold on the worldwide cybersecurity influence and financial balance perpetrated by the Lazarus Group, but it is about time the U.S. government came up with a legal complaint and an ongoing effort to recover the money stolen.
