North Korean Lazarus Group Linked To DMM Bitcoin Hack

North Korean hackers from the Lazarus Group may have carried out this June’s DMM Bitcoin hack.

Maybe, it was North Korea’s Lazarus Group that perpetrated the DMM Bitcoin attack. Tether blocked $29.6 million of funds related to the hacking case, as ZachXBT disclosed. Crypto pitfalls are becoming more common.

The North Korean hacker group Lazarus could have been responsible for hacking Bitcoin on a Japanese exchange called DMM in 2020. Zack XBT, a sleuth on-chain investigator within the crypto community pointed out that a series of transactions involved money associated with Lazarus giving away the curtains. 

Similarly, ZachXBT noted that there were similarities between off and on-chain indicators as well as laundering activities.

Read more:- North Korean Lazarus Group Linked To DMM Bitcoin Hack

A Preliminary Search for Stolen Funds

Stealing from an exchange or protocol is one thing, but hiding the loot is another matter entirely. For instance, DMM Bitcoin losses hit as high as $305 million according to ZachXBT.

From his findings, this platform has moved about $35 million to Huione Guarantee this month alone. Also, ZackXBT discovered that Tether has just redlisted one wallet connected with the group known as Lazarus, which holds up $29.6 Million while sitting on the Tron blockchain system.

In 3 days after the DMM Bitcoin hack, someone credited the wallet with approximately $14 million coded as “TNVaK….s4Ug8.”  To help the crypto community understand the hack and flow that came with it, ZachXBT summarized events.

He first said funds stolen from DMM Bitcoin were transferred to a mixer. Additionally, they moved out of the mixer into Ethereum or Avalanche via THORChain, Threshold, and Avalanche bridge for conversion from Bitcoin. BTC was later changed to USDT on Tron by hackers through SWFT.

Investigators assume that in this last phase, the perpetrators successfully concealed the destination and origin of the stolen funds.

A Different Kind of Hacking Trend

Within today’s Web3 world, hacks and cyber exploits are not uncommon. In addition to powering Compound Finance and Celer Network, an IT service provider called Squarespace suffered a recent breach. Nonetheless, hackers only crashed their websites, but they did not lose any money.

In some cases, projects can negotiate terms for refunds after hacks to reduce losses, while other breaches typically lead to a total loss of funds. Nevertheless, regarding all hacks related to Lazarus Group, none has ever recorded such recoveries made thus far. 

Though uncertain, ZachXBT’s findings may not bring closure; the DMM Bitcoin hack remains a significant problem in the industry this year.