The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) has confirmed that the North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus Group, also known as the Hidden Cobra, alongside its subset, Andariel, are responsible for the South Korean crypto exchange Upbit hack in 2019, which resulted in a loss of about 342,000 Ether (ETH).
342,000 ETH Theft
At the time of the exploit, one ETH was worth about $147. Thus, the stolen tokens were valued at $50.2 million. Following the upward trajectory in the digital asset industry over the years, ETH is now worth $3,350 per coin. Therefore, the stolen crypto is valued at about $1.1 billion at the current market price.
According to South Korean news media Yonhap News, this is the first time a “domestic investigative agency has officially confirmed” Lazarus hacker’s involvement in a cryptocurrency hack despite various foreign reports about the group’s cybercrimes.
Notably, the police claimed to have gathered lots of information about the hack over the years, including North Korea’s IP addresses, traces of North Korean vocabulary usage, the flow of digital assets, and detailed data obtained through cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) before confirming North Korea’s role in the theft.
The forces also discovered that about 57% of the stolen crypto was converted to bitcoin (BTC) via three crypto exchanges allegedly opened by the North Korean government and at a price about 2.5% lower than the average market price. After that, the group laundered the remaining ETH via 51 international exchanges.
Additionally, the police revealed that the group stored a fraction of the stolen assets in a Swiss crypto exchange. After conducting investigations and presenting convincing shreds of evidence to the firm, it seized about 4.8 BTC, refunding Upbit.
North Korean Crypto Exploits on the Rise
North Korea has made a name for training hackers who bypass systems and sanctions to steal cryptocurrencies from vulnerable firms. Just this year, it has been connected to about 11 crypto exploits worth about $54.7 million. Earlier in March, it laundered about $147 million in proceeds from the hack of crypto exchange HTX in 2023.
Meanwhile, the massive rise in the price of cryptocurrencies over time has attracted many cyber criminals, leaving investors’ funds at risk of being stolen via subtle or direct means. The industry lost about $120 million in September from over 20 hacks.
