A recent report has linked the notorious hackers association from North Korea, popularly called Lazarus Group, with the attacks carried out on three crypto platforms, namely Harmony, Atomic Wallet, and Coinspaid.
According to the report, new evidence that emerged during the progressive investigation on the hacks of Coinspaid, Atomic Wallet, and Harmony cryptocurrency platforms suggested the infamous Lazarus is likely responsible for the hideous acts.
Attacks and hacks on cryptocurrency-based platforms have become a rampant and common problem that the crypto industry has faced in recent years. But even though the crime cannot be totally eradicated from the industry, the transparent nature of the blockchain innovation makes it easy for hacks to be investigated and traced by on-chain operatives.
As such, after the attacks on the Atomic Wallet, Harmony, and Coinspaid platforms, on-chain sleuths immediately launched an investigation to source out the origin of the hack. And according to reports, prior to the new evidence, investigators have suggested that the notorious Lazarus group is likely behind the attack on the crypto wallet brand.
Crypto Security Firms Tagged Lazarus Group With Recent Hacks
Last week, the cybersecurity experts launched their investigation, and it was discovered that about $290 million in digital assets was stolen from victims across the three crypto platforms.
In addition, the reports from the investigations revealed that the experts had traced about $8.5 million in digital assets, which were stolen from about 300 addresses across the three crypto platforms. In other words, the professional cyber security operatives have only traced $8.5 million out of the total $290 million stolen.
Furthermore, the investigation sleuths reported that they suspected the infamous Lazarus Group was behind the attack, which was orchestrated on Atomic Wallet on June 3. According to the reports, the announcement of the hack sent a tremendous shockwave across the whole crypto community as a whopping $35 million in crypto during the attack.
In addition, a few days after the attack, Elliptic, a crypto-security firm, alleged that Lazarus pulled off the attack on Atomic Wallet. Also, ZachXBT, a private crypto crime investigator, supported the allegation as it claimed that the infamous N. Korean hackers may be behind the security breach.
During the investigation, the on-chain data revealed that during the hack, the perpetrators used a particular cryptocurrency mixer that was synonymous with the Lazarus hackers group. In addition, Elliptic pointed out that the procedures used in the hack exactly matched the techniques used in previous hacks and onchian theft, which had been linked with the Lazarus group in the past.
The Infamous Lazarous Group
According to the report, the Lazarus group, also called the Guardians of Peace, is a group of hackers that is reportedly under the command of the North Korean government. In the past, the notorious group had pulled off many high-profile cybercrimes and hacks, such as the 2017 WannaCry ransomware hack and the Sony Pictures attack that occurred in 2014.
In the last few years, the infamous group had mainly focused on the crypto industry, hacking and attacking crypto platforms and looting victims’ funds. Several crypto heists on large scales have been linked with the group recently. The Lazarus group is popular for its highly-technical hacking strategies and the act of using crypto mixers to cover its tracks, making it difficult for cybercrime experts to trace the stolen assets.
Although it is pretty disturbing to know that the Lazarus group might be involved in the attack, it is, however, not sure yet as there is no concrete evidence proving their involvement. Meanwhile, the unique strategies the group always employ is knowledge available to the public; hence, copycats could have easily disguised themselves as the Lazarus group by using their techniques.
It was also reported that some scammers also tried to use the attack incident to further exploit victims by claiming they wanted to refund them and thereby use the opportunity to scoop the remaining funds that Lazarus group left behind. This incident and many others that are unprecedented is a pragmatic reason why crypto traders should understand the security structure of the crypto industry.