North Korean hackers stole $41 million worth of cryptocurrencies to fund a casino
North Korean hackers stole nearly $41 million worth of cryptocurrencies from an online casino and sports betting site this week – officials fear the money will be used to bolster the country’s nuclear weapons program ahead of an expected arms deal with Russia .
The FBI announced on Wednesday It had traced the Stake.com hack to North Korea and its state-sponsored Lazarus Group, which stole more than $200 million in cryptocurrencies last year alone.
In 2022 Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis found It had stolen a whopping $3.8 billion from the crypto business.
“In recent years, North Korea has seen a significant level and scale of cyber attacks against cryptocurrency-related companies.” This was reported by the blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs in June.
“This coincided with an apparent acceleration of the country’s nuclear and missile programs.”
Even more worrying for U.S. officials is the fact that this latest act came just days before North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the two world leaders are expected to negotiate an arms deal to help Russia deal with its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The White House had previously warned that North Korea was supplying artillery shells and rockets to Russia and would negotiate further arms deals.
Just last month, North Korean state media reported that Kim and Putin exchanged letters calling for expanding “bilateral cooperation in all areas” and building a “long-standing strategic relationship in line with the requirements of the new era.”
It’s unclear what exactly Kim will offer Putin as the war in Ukraine continues, but analysts say recent cryptocurrency hacks have given the communist country some funds it could use to build up its weapons stockpile.
In the recent hack, Lazarus Group stole $16 million worth of Ether as well as stablecoins such as USDT, USDC and DAI.
This was followed by further withdrawals of MATIC and BNB tokens worth $25 million.
Edward Craven, co-founder of Stake.com, told DL News It was a “sophisticated breach” that exploited a service the casino uses to authorize crypto transactions.
The company stopped deposits and withdrawals following the breach, but restored both functions shortly afterwards and continues to operate.
The FBI is now advising the public to “protect themselves from transactions made directly to or derived from these addresses.”
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is warning North Korea that it will “pay a price” if it moves forward with a deal to sell arms to Russia.
The White House national security adviser made the comments at a news conference on Tuesday when asked about reports that Kim and Putin would meet in person.
“[This] will not reflect well on North Korea, and they will pay a price for that in the international community,” he said.
“We will continue to call on North Korea to honor its public commitments and not to supply weapons to Russia that would ultimately lead to the killing of Ukrainians.”
