Hey Peeps!

On January 23rd, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced, via a press release, that North Korea was responsible for the $100 million hack of Harmony Protocol's Horizon Bridge back in June 2022. 

Of the $100 million that was originally stolen during the Harmony hack, about $40 million was frozen and recovered by various cryptocurrency exchanges. 

The FBI confirmed that North Korean hackers used a privacy protocol, called RAILGUN, to launder over $60 million worth of Ethereum stolen during the hack.

The hackers then converted a portion of the Ethereum to Bitcoin and withdrew. 

"The FBI continues to combat malicious cyber activity, including the threat posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the U.S. and our private sector partners. Through our investigation, we were able to confirm that the Lazarus Group (also known as APT28) cyber actors associated with the DPRK, are responsible for the theft of $100 million of virtual currency from Harmony’s Horizon bridge reported on June 24, 2022." 

- FBI National Press Office

The FBI states that the hack was the work of the Lazarus Group, which is a hacking and cybercrime organization that is closely associated with North Korea. 

The Lazarus Group was also responsible for the $600 million hack of Axie Infinity back in April 2022.

This group of hackers has even been called a "North Korean state-sponsored hacking organization" by the FBI in the past, as their main goal is to generate income for the North Korean regime.

The FBI even goes on to claim that the funds stolen by the Lazarus Group are used to "support North Korea’s ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs".

The Lazarus Group is reportedly pretending to be venture capitalists, potential employers, and banks when looking for their next victims. 

We must all be vigilant to protect our assets, especially when scams are happening so often and even the biggest companies are prey to these hackers. 

What are your thoughts on this news?

Do you think anything will come of this?

Is there really a way to stop North Korea from hacking whomever they want?

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