North Korea's Lazarus Group tied to $305 million crypto breach of Japan’s DMM exchange

Blockchain
sleuth
ZachXBT
suggested
that

North
Korea-backed
Lazarus
Group
orchestrated
the
$305
million
hack
of
the
Japan-based
DMM
Bitcoin
exchange.

In
a
social
media

post
on
July
14,
ZachXBT
pointed
out
the
similarities
in
the
“laundering
techniques
and
off-chain
indicators”
used
by
the
Lazarus
Group
and
those
seen
in
the
movement
of
funds
by
the
DMM
Bitcoin
hackers.

In
May,
DMM

confirmed
it
was
hacked
for
4,502.9 BTC,
valued
at
approximately
48
billion
yen
($305
million).
Subsequently,
the
firm
raised
about
$320
million
to
compensate
its
impacted
users.

$35
million
laundered

ZachXBT
reported
that
the
DMM

Bitcoin
hackers
moved
around
$35
million
of
the
stolen
funds
to
the
online
marketplace
Huione
Guarantee
in
July.

The
investigator
noted
that
hackers
usually
dump
stolen
BTC
into
a

crypto
mixer
and
then
bridge
it
to

Avalanche
or

Ethereum
blockchains
using
THORChain,
Avalanche
Bridge,
and
Threshold.

Once
on
these
smart
contract
blockchains,
the
hackers
swap
the
funds
for
USDT
and
bridge
to
the
Tron
network.
From
there,
the
USDT
is
transferred
to
Huione.
This

sophisticated
laundering
pattern,
involving
chain
hopping
and
mixers,
mirrors
the
methods
used
by
the
notorious
Lazarus
Group.

Interestingly,
the
USDT
transfers
appeared
to
have
caught
the
attention
of
stablecoin
issuer

Tether,
which
blacklisted
$29.6
million
of
its
USDT
tokens
in
a
Tron-based
wallet.
This
wallet,
connected
to
the
Huione
marketplace,
had
received
about
$14
million
from
the
DMM
Bitcoin
hack
within
three
days,
ZachXBT
noted.

Bitrace,
a
Web3
investigative
tool
provider,
further
corroborated
the
seizure,
stating
that
the
Tron

address
was
frozen
because
it
assisted
malicious
players
“in
laundering
funds
for
criminal
activities
such
as
fraud
and
crypto
theft.”

Huione
Guarantee
has
become
a
popular
marketplace
for
scam
operators.
It
is
part
of
the
Huione
Group,
a
Cambodian
conglomerate
linked
to
the
ruling
Hun
family.

Last
week,
blockchain
analytics
firm
Elliptic

reported
that
crypto
wallets
used
by
Huione
Guarantee
and
its
merchants
have
received
over
$11
billion
since
2021,
most
of
which,
it
suggested,
can
be
linked
to
fraud
or
illicit
activity.

Mentioned
in
this
article

Posted
In:

Bitcoin,

Hacks

Go to Source
Author: Oluwapelumi Adejumo

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