North Korean Hackers Steal $620M in Crypto from Axie Infinity Game

Overview

According to US officials, North Korean hackers stealing cryptocurrency were responsible for a $620 million crypto hack robbery last month and targeted users of the popular Axie Infinity video game. The breach was one of the most significant to strike the North Korea crypto hack world in recent memory, raising serious concerns about the security of a sector that has only lately gained widespread attention due to celebrity endorsements and promises of great riches.

The Cyber Attack

The robbery from the producers of Axie Infinity, a game in which players may earn a North Korea crypto hack via gameplay or by exchanging their avatars, occurred only a few weeks after hackers made off with over $320 million in a similar raid on the same company. According to the FBI, it was discovered that the Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors linked with (North Korea), were responsible for the theft in a statement released on Tuesday morning.

North Korea’s Cyber Program

After being suspected of hacking into Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014 as retaliation for the release of “The Interview,” a satirical film that insulted North Korean hackers stealing cryptocurrency leader Kim Jong Un, the Lazarus Group earned widespread attention. Even though North Korea’s cyber program dates back to at least the mid-1990s, the country has since developed a 6,000-strong cyber warfare unit, known as Bureau 121, that operates from several locations worldwide. These locations include countries such as Belarus, China, India, Malaysia, and Russia, according to a 2020 US military report.

Previous Crypto Heists

North Korean hackers stole almost $400 million worth of crypto heists via assaults on digital currency exchanges last year, according to blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, which published its findings in January.

The Vulnerability of Axie Infinity

In the Axie Infinity robbery instance, the attackers took advantage of flaws in the security system put in place by Sky Mavis. This Vietnamese company developed the game. The organization had to overcome an obstacle: the Ethereum blockchain, which records all of the transactions made with the ether crypto heist, is both sluggish and costly to operate. To enable players of Axie Infinity to purchase and trade at lightning speed, the company developed an in-game currency and a sidechain that served as a link to the main Ethereum blockchain. Consequently, the process was more efficient and less expensive for cryptocurrency hacking news — but ultimately less secure.

Conclusion

As a result of the assault on its cryptocurrency hacking news, the company received 173,600 ether and $25.5 million worth of the stablecoin, a digital currency tied to the US dollar. The attack highlights the vulnerability of the crypto world and the importance of robust security measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

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