Hacking cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto accounts are two of the biggest issues related to digital coins. Governments around the world are citing these as top priorities to consider when introducing a digital coin or developing a stable coin.
But it is interesting to note that more than half of all hacked cryptos end up in none other bur North Korea. The cryptocurrency hacking is initiated by the Lazarus hacking gang, or Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization that is, according to rumours, sponsored by the state itself.
Lazarus have hacked more than $500 million since January 2017, reports Group-IB. North Korea is one of those countries that are trying to use cryptocurrencies as hedge against economic downturns and turmoils. The same strategy is currently being used by Venezuela with the oil-backed cryptocurrency called petro, which is now also an official currency in the country.
Lazarus Group is best known for the Sony breach, one of the most intrusive corporate breaches in the modern history. Lazarus was able to hack into Sony and steal valuable information regarding employees and corporate practices.
While the group has been focused on companies and governments in recent years, it has also turned to cryptocurrency exchanges, and since they have many loopholes, the group was able to steal a lot of cryptocurrencies from last winter up until now.
Most of the exchanges Lazarus has hit are based in Japan and South Korea. The total amount that Lazarus has managed to hack up until now is more than $570 million, which is around 65% of the $883 million in total stolen digital coins since last year (2017).
Two of the exchanges that have been hit by Lazarus are Coincheck (Japan) and Yapizon (South Korea). The information provided is sources from Brave New Coin and a report by Group-IB.