{"id":61819,"date":"2023-09-16T13:41:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T17:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/crypto\/north-korean-lazarus-group-theft-spree-reaches-240-million-in-104-days\/"},"modified":"2023-09-16T13:42:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T17:42:02","slug":"north-korean-lazarus-group-theft-spree-reaches-240-million-in-104-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=61819","title":{"rendered":"North Korean Lazarus Group Theft Spree Reaches $240 Million in 104 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nefarious North Korean hacking group\u00a0Lazarus\u00a0<\/strong>has stolen nearly $240 million in cryptocurrencies in the past 104 days alone.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0report published\u00a0by blockchain surveillance firm\u00a0Elliptic<\/strong>, Lazarus has been identified as the perpetrator behind a series of major cryptocurrency hacks in recent months, with their activity intensifying.<\/p>\n

The most recent attack attributed to Lazarus targeted the global cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx, resulting in an\u00a0estimated loss of $54 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elliptic’s analysis revealed that funds stolen from CoinEx were sent to an address previously utilized by the Lazarus group for laundering funds pilfered from the Drake-backed crypto casino Stake.com, albeit on a different blockchain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As\u00a0reported, the FBI has identified Lazarus as responsible for the theft of $41 million from Stake.<\/p>\n

Elliptic’s findings align with those of on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who noted on Twitter that the CoinEx hacker had inadvertently linked their address to the Stake hack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The hacker subsequently transferred the stolen funds to Ethereum using a bridge previously employed by Lazarus, before moving them to a wallet address under the hacker’s control.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A significant portion of the pilfered funds originated from the Tron and Polygon blockchains.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Elliptic discovered that Lazarus hackers had mixed the funds with addresses associated with the Stake hack and employed an address involved in the $100 million Atomic wallet hack in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on the blockchain activity and the absence of evidence pointing to any other threat group, Elliptic concluded that Lazarus Group is the likely culprit behind the CoinEx theft.<\/p>\n

Lazarus Responsible For More Hacks<\/h2>\n

Recent investigations have connected Lazarus to additional hacks, including the crypto payments platform CoinsPaid in late June and the crypto payment provider Alphapo in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elliptic observed a shift in Lazarus’ focus towards centralized platforms rather than decentralized ones, possibly due to the feasibility of conducting social engineering attacks against such targets.<\/p>\n

In response to the attack, CoinEx released an open letter to the hackers, urging them to contact the company via email or through the blockchain to discuss a bug bounty and the return of the stolen funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far this year, Web3 platforms have\u00a0lost over $1.2 billion\u00a0in hacks and rug pulls, according to a report from Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi.<\/p>\n

The report revealed a total of 211 separate incidents contributing to this massive sum, with the month of August alone accounting for $23.4 million in losses.<\/p>\n

The surge in losses during August mostly contributed to projects hosted on the newly launched Ethereum Layer 2 Base network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As per the report, Ethereum faced the most significant number of attacks, with five distinct incidents affecting protocols built on the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n