$62 million worth of crypto stolen: North Korean hackers break into video gaming company, cyber thieves are associated with the Kim government

Posted on 15th Apr 2022 by rohit kumar

The US Federal Investigation Agency (FBI) has uncovered a major cryptocurrency theft by North Korean hackers. The FBI has claimed that hackers affiliated with the Kim Jong Un government stole $62 million in crypto while breaking into a video gaming company.

 

In a statement released on Thursday, the FBI said the burglary took place last month. It is the latest in cyber thefts linked to Pyongyang. The investigation revealed that on March 29, $62 million in Ethereum was stolen by hackers. This theft has been done by Lazarus Group and APT38. These hackers are associated with DPRK.

 

 

According to the US investigative agency, DPRK is an acronym of North Korea's official name 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea', and a technology platform linked to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. The FBI has made this claim regarding the hacking of the computer network used by Axi Infinity. It is a video game that allows game players to earn cryptocurrency.

 

Sky Mavis, the maker of Axi Infinity, said on March 29 that unidentified hackers stole about $600 million worth of crypto from its account. This was the value of Ethereum at that time, which has now increased to $62 million.

 

The US Treasury Department on Thursday banned the Lazarus Group. It is believed to be a large group of hackers, who work on behalf of the North Korean government. The ministry also banned a particular wallet or cryptocurrency account that was used to cash out Ethereum by hacking Axi Infinity.

 

North Korea earning from cyber attacks

 

A UN committee and cyber security experts claim that North Korea has been raising funds through cyber attacks for the past few years. The country's military ruler Kim Jong Un has also run the nuclear weapons program through this.

In recent years, the Lazarus Group has stolen nearly $1.75 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, according to virtual currency trading firm Chainalysis.

 

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