Infamous North Korean hacker group identified as suspect for $100M Harmony attack
The Lazarus Group, a well known North Korean hacking syndicate, has been recognized as the first suspect within the latest assault that noticed $100 million stolen from the Concord protocol.
In keeping with a brand new report published Thursday by blockchain evaluation agency Elliptic, the style during which Concord’s Horizon bridge was hacked and the best way during which the stolen digital belongings have been consequently laundered bears a hanging resemblance to different Lazarus Group assaults.
“There are robust indications that North Korea’s Lazarus Group could also be accountable for this theft, based mostly on the character of the hack and the next laundering of the stolen funds.”
Moreover, Elliptic outlined precisely how the heist was executed, noting that The Lazarus Group focused the login credentials of Concord workers within the Asia Pacific area to breach the protocol’s safety system. After gaining management of the protocol, the hackers deployed automated laundering applications that moved the stolen belongings late at night time.
Elliptic additionally famous that the hackers have already transferred over 40% of the $100 million to Twister Mixer, an Ethereum-based “mixing service” that obscures transaction knowledge and makes it extraordinarily troublesome for investigators to hint the motion of funds.
Initially, the Concord staff provided up a $1 million bounty as an incentive for the hackers to return the funds. Nonetheless, on June 29, Concord upped the bounty to $10 million and claimed {that a} full return of funds would finish the investigation and no additional legal costs can be pursued.
The $600 million Ronin bridge hack, which occurred in April, has additionally been linked again to The Lazarus Group. As a consequence of present market circumstances, the worth of the stolen Ether (ETH) has plummeted greater than 60% right down to $230 million.
A latest report from Coinclub.com indicates that North Korea has deployed 7,000 full-time hackers to lift funds by way of cyberattacks, ransomware and crypto protocol hacks. North Korea is the world chief in cryptocurrency-related crime, with over 15 documented cases of cyber theft amounting to roughly $1.59 billion in stolen funds.
Associated: Concord hacker sends stolen funds to Twister Money mixer
Concord’s Horizon bridge is the most recent addition to a rising checklist of token bridges which were attacked, together with Meter, Wormhole and Ronin, bringing the whole quantity of bridge token-related theft to somewhat over $1 billion in 2022 alone.
The biggest token bridge to be hacked was Poly Community in 2021, which misplaced $610 million, virtually all of which has since been returned.
