FBI Monitors North Korea's Lazarus Group in Major Cryptocurrency Heist

blockchain.news:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently alerted cryptocurrency firms about blockchain activities linked to the theft of a significant amount of cryptocurrency. Within the past day, the FBI has monitored cryptocurrency pilfered by actors affiliated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. These actors, known as the TraderTraitor group, are also recognized as the Lazarus Group and APT38. The agency suspects that North Korea might try to liquidate the bitcoin, which is valued at over $40 million.

Through its investigation, the FBI determined that the TraderTraitor-affiliated entities transferred around 1,580 bitcoin from multiple cryptocurrency thefts. They are presently holding these funds in specific bitcoin addresses, some of which include: 

— 3LU8wRu4ZnXP4UM8Yo6kkTiGHM9BubgyiG

— 39idqitN9tYNmq3wYanwg3MitFB5TZCjWu

— 3AAUBbKJorvNhEUFhKnep9YTwmZECxE4Nk

These DPRK TraderTraitor-affiliated actors have been implicated in several notable international cryptocurrency thefts. This includes the theft of $60 million in virtual currency from Alphapo on June 22, 2023, a $37 million heist from CoinsPaid on the same date, and a staggering $100 million theft from Atomic Wallet on June 2, 2023. The FBI had previously shared details about their attacks on Harmony’s Horizon bridge and Sky Mavis’ Ronin Bridge and had issued a Cybersecurity Advisory on TraderTraitor.

The FBI advises private sector companies to scrutinize the blockchain data related to these addresses. They should remain cautious about transactions directly associated with, or originating from, these addresses. The FBI remains committed to unveiling and countering the DPRK's engagement in illicit