• Evidence has recently emerged linking Coinspaid, Atomic Wallet, and Harmony hacksto North Korean hackers in the Lazarus Group.
• The total losses from these hacks are estimated to be over $290 million.
• Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic claimed that the Atomic Wallet hack could be the doing of Lazarus and independent crypto investigator ZachXBT corroborated these claims.
Lazarus Group Linked to Hacks
New evidence has emerged linking Coinspaid, Atomic Wallet, and Harmony hacks to the infamous Lazarus Group. On-chain sleuths made a startling discovery, tracing funds stolen from these hacks to approximately $8.5 million across more than 300 addresses on three different chains. These breaches have resulted in an estimated total loss of over $290 million for victims of these attacks.
Atomic Wallet Hack
On June 3rd, the Atomic Wallet was exploited resulting in a loss of over $35 million in cryptocurrency. This hack sent shockwaves through the crypto community with suspicions pointing towards North Korean hackers in the Lazarus Group. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic noted that hackers followed a “series of steps that exactly mirrors known tactics used by North Korea’s cybercrime unit” while independent crypto investigator ZachXBT also corroborated these claims suggesting that North Korean hackers were likely responsible for this breach.
Crypto Mixer Favored by North Korea
The investigation into this attack revealed that hackers used a crypto mixer known to be favored by North Korean cybercriminals as part of their scheme. Crypto mixers are methods used to obfuscate transaction trails which allows attackers to cover their tracks when moving funds stolen during malicious activities such as this one involving multiple wallets across multiple chains including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR).
Continuing Investigations
The investigation into this attack is still ongoing with authorities working hard to uncover any further links between those behind this attack and other malicious activities connected to the Lazarus Group or other hacking syndicates operating within or outside of North Korea’s borders.
Implications for Crypto Users
This incident serves as another reminder for users of cryptocurrencies about how important it is to practice secure storage measures when using digital assets online such as regularly backing up private keys on multiple devices or utilizing hardware wallets where possible if large amounts are being stored online at any given time .