The FBI accused two groups of North Korean government hackers of carrying out last year’s heist of $100 million in crypto stolen from a company that allows users to transfer cryptocurrency from one blockchain to another.
On Monday, the FBI announced that the Lazarus Group and APT38 — two groups linked to the North Korean government by both cybersecurity companies and government agencies — were responsible for the hack against the Horizon bridge, created by the U.S. company Harmony, in June 2022.
Citing cybersecurity experts, Reuters reported last year that North Korea was likely the culprit of the hack, which exploited a vulnerability in the bridge to steal various cryptocurrency assets, such as Ethereum, Binance Coin, Tether, USD Coin, and Dai.
The FBI said that on January 13, the North Korean hackers used RAILGUN, a crypto “privacy protocol,” to launder $60 million in Ethereum stolen from Harmony.
“A portion of this stolen ethereum was subsequently sent to several virtual asset service providers and converted to bitcoin (BTC),” the FBI said in its announcement. “A portion of these funds were frozen, in coordination with some of the virtual asset service providers.”
The FBI also published 11 cryptocurrency wallets where the remaining $40 million in stolen bitcoin were moved to.
North Korea has a long history of targeting cryptocurrency companies to raise money for the regime, which sees crypto as a way to evade international sanctions and to fund its nuclear weapons program. Last year, the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Treasury Department published an advisory detailing North Korea’s activities targeting crypto companies.
According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, North Korea has stolen around $1.2 billion worth of crypto in the last five years, including $626 million in 2022 alone.
Harmony’s Horizon is a so-called blockchain bridge — also known as cross-chain bridges, a tool that allows users to transfer digital assets from one blockchain to another, allowing different blockchains created by different companies to be interoperable. Several of these bridges have had serious vulnerabilities, making them a favorite target for hackers.
“Blockchain bridges have become the low-hanging fruit for cyber-criminals, with billions of dollars worth of crypto assets locked within them,” Tom Robinson, co-founder and chief scientist at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, told CNBC last year. “These bridges have been breached by hackers in a variety of ways, suggesting that their level of security has not kept pace with the value of assets that they hold.”
Chainalysis, another blockchain analytics firm, estimated that around $1.4 billion were stolen from blockchain bridges last year.
Hacker exploits Harmony blockchain bridge, loots $100M in crypto
A hacker group associated with North Korea, the Lazarus Group, also known as APT38, was responsible for the theft last June of $100 million from U.S. crypto firm Harmony's Horizon bridge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday. On Jan. 13, North Korean cyber actors used a privacy protocol called Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of ethereum stolen during the theft in June, the FBI said in a statement. A portion of the stolen ethereum was subsequently sent to several virtual asset providers and converted to bitcoin, the FBI said.
A pair of North Korean hacker groups were behind the June theft of $100 million in crypto assets from Horizon Bridge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a Monday statement.
The private bank is partnering with digital assets firm Taurus to issue and manage its tokenized shares.
For those who made their way to the Star Ballroom over the years, Ming Ma was a bright light, always smiling and encouraging those who came to the Los Angeles area dance hall popular with older Asian Americans. Ma, 72, who managed the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, was identified Tuesday as one of the 11 people killed when a gunman opened fire Saturday night at the Monterey Park dance hall.
Eleven people were killed when a 72-year-old gunman opened fire late Saturday during a celebration of the Lunar New Year at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County coroner's office has confirmed the names of the victims. There were six women killed: My My Nhan, 65; Lilan Li, 63; Xiujuan Yu, 57; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; Hongying Jian, 62; and Diana Man Ling Tom, 70.
'The first and easiest leg of the bursting of the bubble is complete,' Jeremy Grantham wrote in a commentary.
“You sexy house, you.”
Wendy’s is trying really hard to get you to download their app this month, offering up free food deals every week, provided you place your order via a smartphone. We’ve had free chicken nuggets (today is the last day for those l’il guys), and BOGO for $1 chicken sandwich (that one runs through Feb. 5), and now, Wendy’s is offering a free Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger when you order some fries using their app.
Ghislaine Maxwell has said she believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered.Source: TalkTV
Women can no longer access a fifth of vital aid services in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s ban on female humanitarian workers, new figures show.
Beijing appears to be nearing the end of a two-year crackdown on the county’s big tech companies. Some of China's most well-known and influential internet companies have been forced to make significant changes. WSJ Asia tech reporter Liza Lin joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss the changes and whether authorities got the outcome they were hoping for.
Brazil's environment minister Marina Silva knows she has her work cut out to protect the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest that is shared among nine countries.Brasilia will not be able to pull off miracles without international help, said Silva, who was previously environment minister during Lula's first two terms as president (from 2003 to 2010) before quiting in 2008 in protest against what she called a lack of funding.
(Bloomberg) — Petroleos Mexicanos plans to issue bonds in the coming weeks as the indebted Mexican state oil company looks to pay off maturities coming due in the first quarter, according to three people familiar with the situation.Most Read from BloombergUS Confronts China Over Companies’ Ties to Russia War EffortNYSE Investigates Technical Issue That Caused Wild Market OpenChina Slams US on Debt Limit and Accuses Washington of SabotageUS and Germany Set to Send Tanks to Ukraine, Breaking Dead
Everton already need a new manager, and now the current owner is looking for a new owner.
In a brutally honest adoption post about Ralphie, the Niagara Country SPCA described the playful pooch as "a whole jerk — not even half"
Lebanon’s chief prosecutor on Tuesday defied the judge leading the investigation into Beirut’s massive 2020 port blast, claiming he can not proceed with the probe until the country’s judicial authorities rule on the matter. The move by the prosecutor, Ghassan Oweidat, appeared to mark a new chapter in the long-stalled investigation. The probe has threatened to rattle Lebanon’s ruling elite, rife with corruption and mismanagement, that has helped push the country into an unprecedented economic meltdown over the past few years.
With Tom Holland's new series, The Crowded Room, Elizabeth Olsen playing a murderer in Love and Death, great music in Daisy Jones & the Six, and crying for days because of The Last of Us…we're staying fed this year, folks.
Jeff Chiu / APAt least seven people are dead after yet another mass shooting—this one in Half Moon Bay, California, a small town just south of San Francisco. The shooting occurred around 2:20 p.m. at two separate locations, police said. Four victims were found at a mushroom farm off Highway 92, while two more people were killed at another agricultural facility between one and three miles away. A third victim at this second location was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and later died.
The Coeur d'Alene defense attorney representing Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger had defended the mother of one of his four alleged victims.
The judge indicated he wants to make the report public, but may wait until after an indictment decision.
How To Make Huge Profits In A Short Time With CryptoGet detailed training system that shows an absolute beginner (without any skill) how to make huge profits in a short time with crypto.
Crypto + NFT Quick Start CourseThe #1 course for profit in the Crypto & NFT world - You will discover the secrets that 99% of people don’t know yet
