In a startling revelation, it has come to light that the Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korea-linked hacking entity, successfully laundered a staggering $174 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) stolen from HTX (formerly Huobi) and Heco Bridge in November 2023.
Despite being blacklisted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Tornado Cash mixer, a mixing service utilized by the hackers, continues to operate, facilitating the laundering of millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency.
Taylor Monahan, the founder and CEO of MyEtherWallet, disclosed in a recent post on Mar. 28 the intricate maneuvers employed by the hackers. They laundered over 48,194 ETH through Tornado Cash, obscuring the transaction trail by dispersing their stolen crypto across numerous wallets and conducting multiple transactions to evade detection.
After mixing their funds on the Ethereum network, the hackers further obscured their tracks by transferring the laundered assets to the Bitcoin blockchain using THORSwap, a cross-chain asset transfer service. The ultimate fate of the laundered funds remains uncertain, as the hackers typically sell stolen crypto on over-the-counter (OTC) markets for fiat currency.
The HTX and Heco Chain’s Ethereum bridge fell victim to a devastating hacker attack in November 2023, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency. Despite assurances from Justin Sun, an investor at the exchange, that customers would be fully reimbursed, it remains unclear how the hackers gained control over the exchange’s hot wallet.
OFAC had previously imposed sanctions against Tornado Cash in 2022, citing its role in laundering over $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2019. This included funds stolen by the Lazarus Group, totaling over $455 million, as well as funds from other notorious cyber heists.
The revelation underscores the ongoing challenges posed by sophisticated cybercriminals and the imperative for enhanced security measures within the cryptocurrency ecosystem to mitigate such illicit activities.
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