South Korean authorities believe that the “Lazarus” hacker group, linked to the North Korean regime, is behind the theft of around US$30 million in cryptocurrencies from the Upbit platform, the state agency reported this Friday (28). Yonhap.
According to government and financial sector sources cited by YonhapSouth Korean authorities opened an on-site investigation at Upbit’s headquarters after identifying strong evidence that the attack follows the same pattern as previous operations attributed to Lazarus. The group is identified by Seoul and international organizations as one of North Korea’s main cyber arms.
As the agency recalled, if the suspicion is confirmed, this would not be the first time that the platform has been targeted by Lazarus: in 2019, a similar attack against the platform also culminated in a million-dollar theft of cryptocurrencies. Authorities said the method used this time – involving possible access or falsification of administrative credentials – has similarities to the previous case.
International reports cited by the agency Europa Press point out that hackers linked to North Korea have already stolen more than US$2 billion in crypto assets this year alone, as part of the regime’s efforts to finance nuclear weapons and missile programs.
