The US Treasury Department discovered two weeks ago, on April 14th, that a hacking organization from North Korea was behind the $600 million Ronin software bridge attack. The Ethereum addresses associated with the organization were then put on the penalty list. Binance was able to trace the monies that were sent to the tornado cash mixer protocol as a result of this. The monies were blocked as soon as they discovered it. According to Binance’s CEO, money laundering was carried out through nearly 86 distinct accounts.
Until yet, approximately $230 million in stolen funds has made its way out of the pocket. Nearly $170 million of money was shifted out and routed to other addresses, which were then forwarded to tornado cash to conceal the monies’ trail. It will be difficult for the offenders to completely remove their imprint.
Binance recovers $5.8 million from a North Korean hacker group’s $600 million massive breaches. The stolen cryptocurrency was moved to Binance, who recognized it and retrieved it. Binance’s vigilance and recovery of stolen assets demonstrate that cashing out stolen cryptocurrency is difficult. Authorities that have long held the belief that cryptocurrency is the primary source of money laundering and criminal activity may want to reconsider their position.
Several US government organizations issued a warning for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms earlier this week in response to North Korean threats. Apart from Lazarus, the totalitarian regime is said to support a number of other hacking organizations. The rogue state has its sights set on exchanges, trading businesses, games, and individual investors.
The funds are being used by North Korea to support the development of nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles. After a series of successful hacks in 2021, the “hermit kingdom” seized $400 worth of bitcoin. Hackers supported by North Korea frequently use decentralized finance mixers to launder stolen assets.
