North Korean State-Sponsored Lazarus Group Estimated to Have Caused $1.7B in Crypto Hacks
The Lazarus Group, a hacking organization with ties to the North Korean government, has reportedly caused a staggering $1.7 billion in losses through a series of sophisticated cyberattacks last year.
The group has been linked to a series of recent high-profile hacks, amounting to more than $95 million in losses in just the past 10 days, according to cybersecurity firm ArkhamIntel.
The alarming scale and frequency of these attacks have prompted concern across sectors: from government agencies to financial institutions.
Racking up millions in days
Within the past week, the FBI identified the Lazarus Group as the culprit behind a $41 million theft from Stake.com, an online betting and casino platform. Additionally, addresses connected to the group were implicated in the disappearance of $54.3 million from the CoinEx cryptocurrency exchange.
Gamza KhanzadaevThe stolen assets span multiple cryptocurrencies and are hosted on various blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon. These attacks add to an already troubling tally for 2023, where the group has stolen over $200 million from various platforms, including Alphapo and CoinsPaid.
A pervasive cyber threat
Not limited to cryptocurrency theft, the Lazarus Group has a long history of criminal cyber activities that are multifaceted and global in scope.
Their operations have targeted not just financial platforms but also various governmental and private sectors. The group has been active for years, employing a wide array of tactics including spear-phishing, social engineering, and even more complex attacks that compromise the internal systems of their targets.
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