$100 million Crypto Heist: FBI Blames North Korea

In a statement on Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that a pair of North Korean hacker groups were confirmed as being behind the theft of $100 million in June 2022 of crypto assets from Harmony’s Horizon Bridge.

Harmony’s Horizon Bridge Hacked

The FBI on Monday evening highlighted hackers linked to the North Korean government as stealing $100 million in cryptocurrency from a California-based cryptocurrency firm Harmony. In the hack last June, the hackers targeted a bridge, which is a program that allows for the transfer of cryptocurrency, the Harmony Horizon Bridge.

FBI Blame North Korean Groups

According to the FBI, the North Korean hacking groups Lazarus Group and APT38 carried out the cyber heist. In their statement, the FBI said, “Through our investigation, we were able to confirm that the Lazarus Group (also known as APT28) cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible for the theft of $100 million of virtual currency.” They added that the FBI. alongside other government agencies, would continue to detect and interrupt North Korea’s theft and laundering of cryptocurrencies, which they stated, “is used to support North Korea’s ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs.”

Stolen Funds Laundered

The FBI stated that earlier in January this month, North Korean operatives laundered more than $60 million of the stolen cryptocurrency from the hack in June. As highlighted below, they added that “a portion” of the $60 million was frozen but did not specify how much.

The FBI said “On Friday, January 13, 2023, North Korean cyber actors used RAILGUN, a privacy protocol, to launder over $60 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) stolen during the June 2022 heist. A portion of this stolen Ethereum was subsequently sent to several virtual asset service providers and converted to Bitcoin (BTC).  A portion of these funds were frozen, in coordination with some of the virtual asset service providers.”