Ad
Finance
Share this article

FBI Says North Korean Hackers May Try to Sell $40M of Bitcoin

The FBI released six wallets linked to North Korean hackers Lazarus Group and APT38.

Updated Aug 23, 2023, 7:22 p.m. Published Aug 23, 2023, 9:54 a.m.
FBI track $40m of North Korean-linked bitcoin (David Trinks/Unsplash)
FBI track $40m of North Korean-linked bitcoin (David Trinks/Unsplash)

North Korean hackers may attempt to cash out stolen bitcoin (BTC) worth more than $40 million, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The North Korea-based Lazarus Group and APT38 were reportedly behind a series of cryptocurrency hacks earlier this year, including the $60 million theft from payment processor Alphapo and the $100 million exploit of Atomic Wallet, the FBI said.

In January, the FBI named the two groups as being behind last year's Horizon Bridge hack, which resulted in the loss of over $100 million.

Six wallets containing a total of 1,580 bitcoin ($41 million) were identified as connected to the hacker groups, and the FBI warned cryptocurrency companies against interacting with those wallets.

"The FBI will continue to expose and combat the DPRK’s use of illicit activities—including cybercrime and virtual currency theft—to generate revenue for the regime," it said.

Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in April 2022. Before joining CoinDesk, Knight was the Chief Reporter at Coin Rivet for three years. Having graduated with a journalism degree from Birmingham City University, Knight went on to work at various sports publications before diving into the world of Bitcoin in 2014. He does not have any crypto holdings.

picture of Oliver Knight