North Korea is trying to launder stolen crypto through cross-chain fraud
Date: 2023-08-04 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BUSINESS, IN WORLD
North Korean hackers try to cover their tracks by transferring stolen cryptocurrency between the Ethereum, Avalanche and Bitcoin networks
North Korean-backed hackers of the Lazarus group are trying to replace the traces of cross-chain hacks of the Harmony bridge, the Atomic Wallet crypto-wallet, as well as the CoinsPaid and Alphapo crypto-projects through a series of cross-chain transfers. Taylor Monahan, the founder of the MyCrypto crypto wallet, reported this on Twitter.
According to her data, over the past day, attackers have already spent about $8.5 million in cryptocurrency through three networks: Ethereum, Avalanche, and Bitcoin. The total amount of money laundered due to such a cross-chain fraud over the past few weeks amounted to between $25 million and $50 million.
In the process of money laundering, criminals distribute the stolen cryptocurrency among hundreds of wallets, but tie all the funds to one address before transferring the assets to the new blockchain network. As part of one operation, the hackers carried out more than five hundred transactions, notes Monahan.
"I'll be completely honest and say that watching Lazarus spin circles around blockchains with impunity is quite disgusting. They are damn unscrupulous and confident that no one will even try to stop them," Monahan wrote.
According to researcher @ZachXBT, there is no doubt that members of the Lazarus hacker group are behind such a large-scale crypt laundering scheme. According to him, he managed to find the connecting transactions between the hacks on the crypto market, as well as the North Korean group. In total, according to @ZachXBT's calculations, hackers stole more than $290 million in cryptocurrencies. He also notes that as of August 2023, the majority of stolen cryptocurrency ultimately ends up in the TRON network, where it is mixed in over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
Monahan believes that it is time for the crypto-community to admit that the scale of North Korea's criminal activity has reached unprecedented levels, and constant hacks in the market hit the entire industry.
