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After weeks of silence, North Korean computer hackers Lazarus Group transferred Bitcoin worth 1 million dollars on January 8th. According to the blockchain data analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, Lazarus Group transferred 27,371 Bitcoin worth 1.2 million dollars at the current price in two transactions from an address considered by analysts to be a cryptocurrency mixer.
Notable Moves from Lazarus Group
In the ongoing process, Lazarus Group later sent 3,343 Bitcoin worth 150,582 dollars to a previously used inactive address. Arkham announced to the public that after the transactions, Lazarus Group had a portfolio of 79 million dollars. Although it is not possible to predict the intentions of the criminal organization, the transfers may indicate that the black-hat hackers are preparing for further activities.
It is claimed that the Lazarus Group is supported by the North Korean government. The group was held responsible for one-third of all attacks carried out in 2023 and was accountable for various hacking attacks worth 700 million dollars that year. It is known that the group uses innovative techniques to reach their targets, such as fake job offers and impersonating well-known venture capitalists.
Lazarus Group and Legal Regulations
It was reported that the Lazarus Group stole approximately 3 billion dollars worth of crypto assets between 2017 and 2023. This includes over 600 million dollars in Ethereum and USD Coin stolen from the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, developed by Vietnam-based studio Sky Mavis, in the major Ronin Bridge hack. This incident has been recorded as the biggest hack attack in crypto history.
The activities of the Lazarus Group triggered a series of actions by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in response to the Ronin Bridge hack, applying sanctions to a crypto mixer, Blender io, for the first time. Since then, OFAC has also started to impose sanctions on individuals due to their connections with Lazarus Group, as well as Tornado Cash.
Many governments continue to make notable decisions in response to hack attacks in the crypto market. With restrictive regulations, governments are determined to take significant steps to protect the rights of their citizens in potential attacks.
