The FBI and other federal agencies are increasingly looking to counter cyber threats through tools other than criminal indictments, the head of the bureau’s cyber division said in an interview with The Associated Press.

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North Korean hackers have showed no signs of slowing down, while they devise more sophisticated means to steal cryptocurrency.

North Korean hackers stole cryptocurrency worth about $400 million last year in at least seven major attacks on crypto platforms. “Only 20% of the stolen funds were bitcoin … And for the first time ever, ether accounted for a majority of the funds stolen at 58%,” said blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis. North Korean Hackers […]

North Korean hackers stole almost $400 million worth of cryptocurrencies from at least seven attacks on crypto platforms last year, blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis said in a report. The report noted that it was one of the most successful years on record for hackers to steal such large amounts of crypto with the attacks mainly targeted at investment firms and centralized exchanges. “From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from four to seven, and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40 percent,” said the report, which was released on Thursday. Many of last year’s attacks were likely carried out by the Lazarus Group, a hacking group sanctioned by the United States, which is believed to be controlled by North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The attackers used a number of techniques to launder the stolen cryptocurrencies including mixers, or software tools that pool and scramble cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses to siphon funds from the organizations’ hot wallets and then move them into North Korean-controlled addresses, Chainalysis said. “Once North Korea gained custody of the funds, they began a careful laundering process to cover up and cash out,” the report added. Per the report, Bitcoin now accounts for less than one-quarter of the stolen cryptocurrencies or 20 percent of the stolen funds. In contrast, Ethereum makes up the vast majority of stolen funds with 58 percent. The report also identified $170 million in old, unlaundered cryptocurrency holdings from 49 separate hacks from 2017 to 2021.

The post North Korean Hackers Stole $400M in Cryptocurrency Last Year appeared first on Cryptoknowmics-Crypto News and Media Platform.

North Korean hackers launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges in 2021, stealing around $400 million worth of digital assets, the blockchain analytics firm, Chainalysis revealed i...

Hackers in North Korea are still holding roughly $170 million worth of stolen and "unlaundered" crypto, says research firm Chainalysis.