North Korean Hacking Collective Holds $47 Million in Cryptocurrency

Discover how the North Korean hacking collective, Lazarus Group, holds $47 million in cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, and stablecoins. Explore the implications and recent trends in cyber attacks.

Posted 10 months ago in Security


A visual representation of various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, and stablecoins.

The North Korean hacking collective known as Lazarus Group has been found to possess a staggering $47 million in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, and stablecoins like Binance USD. This information comes from data collected on Dune Analytics, revealing that wallets associated with Lazarus Group hold around $42.5 million in Bitcoin, $1.9 million in Ether, $1.1 million in BNB, and an additional $640,000 in stablecoins. However, these holdings have decreased from the $86 million reported just a few days after the Stake.com hack where Lazarus Group was implicated.

The Dune dashboard tracks 295 wallets, identified by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), believed to be owned by the hacking group. Surprisingly, privacy coins such as Monero, Dash, and Zcash, known for their enhanced anonymity, are not a part of Lazarus' portfolio. The group's crypto wallets remain active, with the most recent transaction recorded on September 20.

While the reported figures provide a lower-bound estimation of the hacker group's crypto holdings, 21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, suggests that the actual amount held is likely much higher. Lazarus Group has been implicated in multiple cyber attacks, including the hack of CoinEx resulting in a $55 million loss, as well as the Alphapo, CoinsPaid, and Atomic Wallet hacks, which added up to over $200 million in stolen funds for the group.

However, Chainalysis has reported a significant decline in crypto thefts attributed to North Korea-linked hackers, with an 80% drop from 2022. As of mid-September, these groups had stolen a total of $340.4 million in cryptocurrencies, a significant decrease from the $1.65 billion stolen in 2022.

Recently, U.S. federal authorities issued a warning about potential attacks on the healthcare and public health sector by Lazarus Group, highlighting the significant risk posed by this hacking collective.

Last updated 9/25/2023, 3:12:07 AM

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