The cybercriminals behind the record-breaking $1.5 billion (approx. Rs 1310 crore) crypto heists have successfully cashed out at least $300 million (approx. Rs 260 crore) despite investigators’ efforts to block their transactions. The hackers are linked to North Korea, BBC reported.
Two weeks ago, they hacked the ByBit crypto exchange and have since worked around the clock to convert their stolen crypto into cash.
Dr Tom Robinson, co-founder of crypto investigators Elliptic said, “Every minute matters for the hackers who are trying to confuse the money trail and they are extremely sophisticated in what they’re doing.”
According to Elliptic’s study, 20 per cent of the assets have “gone dark” and are unlikely to be recovered.
Lazarus Group, North Korea’s highly skilled cybercrime organization notorious for committing bold thefts, is believed to be behind the heist, according to the FBI. It is believed that the proceeds of the theft might be used to finance the regime’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
ByBit CEO Ben Zhou assured clients their money was safe because the company refunded the stolen amount using investor loans. Zhou said, “We are waging war on Lazarus,” and announced a bounty scheme to encourage people and firms to find and freeze the stolen cryptocurrency.
The hackers gained access to one of ByBit’s suppliers on February 21 and secretly changed the address of the digital wallet where 401,000 Ethereum coins were supposed to be sent.
ByBit thought it was transferring the funds to the intended recipient, but the funds were redirected to an address controlled by the hackers.
Dr Dorit Dor from the cyber security company Check Point said, “North Korea is a very closed system and closed economy, so they created a successful industry for hacking and laundering, and they don’t care about the negative impression of cybercrime.”
According to Dr Robinson, North Korea is the best at laundering crypto out of all the criminal actors involved in cryptocurrency.
The North Koreans are accused by the United States and its allies of conducting hundreds of hacks in recent years to provide funding for the development of their nuclear and missile weapons.
In 2020, the US added North Koreans accused of being part of the Lazarus Group to its Cyber Most Wanted list.