The U.S. government filed a legal complaint against North Korea’s hacking collective, the Lazarus Group, on Monday to recover $2.6 million in stolen cryptocurrency, according to a court filing.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, outlines the government’s efforts to reclaim funds linked to cyberattacks orchestrated by the state-sponsored group.
U.S. Files Complaint to Recover Crypto Stolen by Lazarus Group
The court filing seeks $1.7 million worth of Tether (USDT) connected to the November 2022 Derbit hack, which saw $28 million drained from the Panamanian exchange.
Additionally, federal officials are looking to recover $971,000 in Avalanche-bridged Bitcoin, stolen in the Lazarus Group’s September 2023 hack of a digital casino that wiped out $41 million from the online sportsbook.
This legal action represents the latest attempt by the U.S. government to disrupt the activities of the Lazarus Group, a hacking entity that has played a key role in funding North Korea’s military ambitions through its series of cyberattacks targeting the digital asset sector.
As part of its ongoing efforts to curb the Lazarus Group’s cyber activities, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash in November, labeling it a “key money laundering tool” for the hacking collective.
“Mixing services that enable criminal actors, such as the Lazarus Group, to launder stolen assets will face serious consequences,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo stated at the time.
FBI Warns of Lazarus Group’s Threat to Crypto Security
A report from a United Nations panel of experts published in March highlighted that up to 40% of the funds stolen by North Korean hackers are funneled into the country’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program.
The Lazarus Group’s cyber operations pose a direct threat to global security, and their increasing focus on the cryptocurrency sector has amplified these risks.
In September, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) issued an alert warning about the dangers the Lazarus Group’s tactics pose to the blockchain industry.
“North Korean social engineering schemes are complex and elaborate, often compromising victims with sophisticated technical acumen,” the FBI alert stated.
They further explained,“Given the scale and persistence of this malicious activity, even those well versed in cybersecurity practices can be vulnerable to North Korea’s determination to compromise networks connected to cryptocurrency assets.”
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