North Korea hackers behind 2019 $42 mln Ethereum heist, South Korea police say

21/11/2024 18:17

        South Korean police said on Thursday an investigation confirmed that hackers linked to North Korea's military intelligence agency were responsible for an Ethereum cryptocurrency heist in 2019, worth 58 billion won ($41.5 million) at the time.
        
        The National Police Agency said, more than half of the stolen assets were laundered through three crypto exchanges set up by the hackers themselves at a discount to Bitcoin and the rest were laundered through 51 different exchanges.
        
        The police said in a statement, the hackers infiltrated a crypto exchange where the Ethereum was being kept and stole 342,000 tokens, now valued at more than 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion).
        
        It did not name the exchange but South Korea-based Upbit exchange said at the time it had detected the transfer of 58 billion won of Ethereum to an unidentified wallet.
        
        A National Police Agency official declined to confirm the identity of the hackers, but South Korean media said police had identified them as the Lazarus and Andariel groups linked to the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau affiliated with its military.