North Korea Suspected as Behind Last Week's $100 Million Cryptocurrency Hack in the US

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Major foreign media reported on the 30th (local time) that North Korea may be behind the theft of up to $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from a U.S. company last week.

The blockchain company Harmony Blockchain was the victim of the cryptocurrency theft on the 23rd.

Chainalysis, a blockchain company investigating the theft along with Harmony, stated on Twitter on the 28th that the hacking method bore similarities to previous North Korean hacks. Nick Carlson, a former FBI analyst now working at U.S. TRM Labs on North Korean cryptocurrency investigations, also expressed a similar view, noting resemblances to North Korean hackers.

Another company investigating the incident, Elliptic, reported on the 30th that there are very clear traces indicating that North Korea's Lazarus Group is behind the attack.

Lazarus is known to be linked to North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau and leads illegal foreign currency acquisition through cryptocurrency hacking.

Chainalysis explained that if North Korea is confirmed to be behind this hacking, it would be the eighth cryptocurrency hack by North Korea this year. They added that the total amount hacked this year is around $1 billion, accounting for 60% of all cryptocurrency hacks this year.

The UN sanctions monitoring team stated that North Korea uses the profits obtained from cryptocurrency hacking to support its nuclear and missile programs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.