Security News > 2020 > August > Justice Dept: North Korean Hackers Stole Virtual Currency

Justice Dept: North Korean Hackers Stole Virtual Currency
2020-08-28 12:24

North Korean hackers stole millions of dollars from virtual currency accounts and then laundered the stolen funds in hopes of making the crime untraceable, according to a Justice Department civil forfeiture complaint filed Thursday.

It comes months after Justice Department officials accused hackers from North Korea of stealing nearly $250 million worth of virtual currency and charged two Chinese hackers with laundering more than $100 million from the hack.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Justice Department's criminal division said Thursday's new case "Publicly exposes the ongoing connections between North Korea's cyber-hacking program and a Chinese cryptocurrency money laundering network."

In one of the episodes they describe, a hacker gained access to the virtual currency wallets of a U.S.-based company as well as funds held on other platforms, and stole nearly $2.5 million and laundered it through more than 100 accounts.

On Wednesday, it disclosed samples of malicious software that officials said North Korean hackers have been using to target a wide variety of victims.


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