FBI Announces Theft of 123.5 Billion KRW from Blockchain Company Hacking 'Linked to North Korea'

"Claims of Using Support for North's Military Power"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified North Korea-linked hacking groups as the main culprits behind the theft of $100 million (approximately 123.5 billion KRW) in cryptocurrency from a U.S. blockchain company last year.

According to Bloomberg News and others on the 23rd (local time), the FBI stated in a press release that the North Korea-linked hacking groups "Lazarus" and "APT38" were investigated for hacking the Horizon Bridge of blockchain technology company Harmony in June last year.

At the time, Harmony revealed that it had been hacked for cryptocurrency worth $100 million, leading the blockchain industry to suspect North Korea as the mastermind, a claim the FBI has now confirmed.

According to the FBI, these groups laundered approximately $60 million worth of Ethereum (about 74.2 billion KRW) stolen through the anonymous transaction protocol "Railgun" on the 13th. Some of these funds were transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges and converted into Bitcoin.

The FBI claims that the funds obtained through cryptocurrency hacking were used to support North Korea's ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

A bridge is software used to send cryptocurrency stored on one blockchain to another blockchain and is known to be a frequent target of hackers.

According to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen in 13 hacking incidents targeting bridges throughout last year.

The FBI also announced that the $600 million cryptocurrency hacking incident in March last year was the work of Lazarus.