Security News > 2023 > January > FBI catches up with infosec and crypto communities, blames Lazarus Group for $100 million heist

The FBI has confirmed what cybersecurity researchers have been saying for months: the North Korean-sponsored Lazarus Group was behind the theft last year of $100 million in crypto assets from blockchain startup Harmony.

In its January 23 statement on the matter, the FBI said the attack on Harmony was part of a North Korean malware campaign named "TraderTraitor."

Two crypto exchanges - Binance and Huobi - froze the accounts used by Lazarus Group to launder the stolen Harmony assets.

The FBI is not the first to name Lazarus Group as the perpetrator of the attack.

By tracking the assets and looking at the Lazarus Group's interest in attacking decentralized financing services like cross-chain bridges - and its alleged connection with the theft of $620 million of crypto from Sky Mavis, maker of the Axie Infinity video game - Elliptic concluded that the Lazarus Group attacked Horizon Bridge.

The Treasury Department last year slapped sanctions on both Tornado Cash and another crypto mixer, Blender - in large part for their work helping the Lazarus Group launder stolen crypto assets.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/fbi_lazarus_harmony_crypto/