FBI Faults North Korean Government In $100M Crypto Heist

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed a cyber-attack group backed by the government of North Korea for its role in a $100m crypto heist reported on 24 June 2022. The funds mainly in Ethereum (ETH) were stolen from Harmony’s Horizon bridge.

Lazarus Group, also referred to as APT28 orchestrated the $100 million hack attack on the Horizon bridge, which allows users on Harmony to transfer value from one blockchain to another. The FBI said, “on Friday, 13 January 2023, North Korean cyber actors used RAILGUN, a privacy protocol, to launder over $60 million worth of ETH stolen during the June 2022 heist.”

Some of the stolen funds have been transferred to other crypto platforms and subsequently swapped for Bitcoin (BTC). The agency while working with several crypto platforms, has frozen an undisclosed amount of digital assets, with 11 crypto wallets containing the other $40m made public. The FBI is committed to working with relevant stakeholders “to expose and combat” illegal activities in North Korea, including cybercrime and organized crypto heists.