A major portion of the funds had begun to be moved around by the hackers using privacy measures, according to prior claims this month from individuals like ZachXBT, which the FBI also validated. 

The North Korean Lazarus Group

The Lazarus Group of North Korean hackers has carried out numerous operations over the years. The group is thought to have been engaged in several important hacks that affected the cryptocurrency industry. Among its hacks is the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack that cost the company $35 million in IT repairs and severely damaged its reputation, as well as the $600 million Ronin Bridge theft from March 2022.

For North Korean hackers, whose nation of birth is in a protracted financial crisis and is essentially cut off from the world market, they have made a large portion of their money through the theft of cryptocurrency and other forms of cyberespionage. 

https://twitter.com/harmonyprotocol/status/1540110924400324608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1540110924400324608%7Ctwgr%5E3d2096a0981fe000bdec56164b82be601811b01b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fbreaking-harmony-one-s-horizon-bridge-hacked-for-100m

North Korean hackers are thought to have stolen $1.72 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2017. This number is only on the rise today because of their constant efforts to breach more security measures and steal more money. 

Lazarus Group responsible for $100m hack

Tether (USDT), ether (ETH), and wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) were stolen from Horizon Bridge, a service that facilitates trading of cryptocurrency between Harmony and other blockchains, with the most likely offenders being Lazarus and APT38.

According to the findings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the $100 million Harmony Bridge Hack from June 2022 was carried out by the Lazarus Group and APT38. Long thought to be behind the attack was the cyber gang with ties to North Korea, but until yesterday, officials had not officially acknowledged their participation. 

In a statement made on January 23, the FBI stated that:

“Through our investigation, we were able to confirm that the Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible for the theft of $100 million of virtual currency from Harmony’s Horizon bridge.”

Due to security flaws in Harmony’s Horizon Ethereum bridge, 11 transactions were used by the hackers to steal a quantity of assets from the bridge during the Harmony Bridge hack of 2022.

The North Korean hackers began transferring about $60 million of the stolen money early this month using the Ethereum-based privacy protocol RAILGUN, according to information provided by the FBI. Prior to this, on January 16, blockchain investigator ZachXBT noted this on Twitter.

North Korean cyber group finances ballistic missiles

According to Changpeng Zhao, Binance quickly helped Huobi in freezing and reclaiming the digital assets the hackers had deposited after it was discovered the hackers were attempting to launder money through the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange. 

https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1614887319177428992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1614887319177428992%7Ctwgr%5Eb0dabe530c93515a1381608cd0726648606e9bdd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fbinance-huobi-team-up-to-recover-2-5m-from-harmony-one-hackers

The FBI also noted that its cyber and virtual assets units, along with the office of the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Justice Department’s cryptocurrency unit has worked to identify and disrupt North Korea’s theft and laundering of virtual currency, which is used to support North Korea’s ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs.