FBI Accuses North Korea of Crypto Theft: Latest Update

- FBI accuses North Korea of being responsible for a $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft, involving the Lazarus Group.

FBI Accuses North Korea of $1.5 Billion Crypto Theft

The FBI has accused North Korea of being behind a $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft, involving the infamous Lazarus Group. The recent cyber attack on the Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit resulted in the theft of approximately $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH). According to the company, hackers bypassed security protocols during a transaction and transferred digital assets to another address.

The FBI has attributed the theft to a North Korea-backed hacker group known as TraderTraitor or Lazarus Group. The group is said to have swiftly executed the robbery, converting some of the stolen assets into Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The FBI anticipates that the stolen assets will be laundered and converted into fiat currency.

Lazarus Group is also allegedly responsible for the $620 million Ethereum and USD Coin theft from the Ronin Network in 2022, marking one of the largest crypto heists on record. In December 2024, the group was held accountable by the US and Japan for the $300 million crypto theft from the Japan-based DMM Bitcoin.

According to South Korea's National Intelligence Service, North Korea has reportedly conducted an estimated $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency and digital asset thefts in the past 5 years.