FBI Uncovers $41 Million Crypto Theft by North Korea’s ‘Lazarus’ Hackers

According to the investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the attack that occurred this month on the crypto gambling and betting site known as Stake was carried out by a hacker collective known as Lazarus Group.

The FBI said in a statement that was released on Wednesday that Lazarus Group stole several cryptocurrencies worth a total of $41 million from Stake. It issued a warning to the general public of the ongoing danger that state-sponsored hackers, including those from the hermit kingdom, pose to the entirety of the cryptocurrency business.

Attacks on businesses, cryptocurrency exchanges, DeFi protocols, and bridges have been attributed to the Lazarus Group, also known as APT38. These attacks have resulted in the theft of several hundred million of dollars worth of cryptocurrency. The authorities in the United States and even the United Nations believe that a major operation is behind the funding of North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.

In the case of Stake.com, the highly sophisticated hack that was carried out by the Lazarus group looked to include a secret key to a hot wallet that had been disclosed or stolen in some other way. This was in contrast to a bug that was present in the smart contract. The hackers have coins on the blockchains of Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, and Bitcoin.

The Lazarus group was already being investigated as a primary suspect in connection with this most recent loss of crypto. Github issued a warning earlier this summer about North Korean hackers executing low-level phishing efforts against staff members at crypto, blockchain, and gambling-related organizations. GitHub said the attacks were aimed at gaining access to sensitive information.

Lazarus had already been accused by federal officials of being responsible for the hack of the Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge that occurred the year before. It resulted in the loss of more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrency. A case has recently been made against a developer who allegedly created a mixer that was used to launder the cash. The case was brought by the prosecution.

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