Rome – The FBI has accused hackers linked to North Koreans of driving One of the greatest publicly known cryptocurrency robberiesTaking a value of $ 1.5 billion in Ethereum of a company based in Dubai.
The theft earlier this month aimed at Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptographic exchanges, represents another that involves a team of computer pirates identified by the United States government by the name merchant and the Lázaro group.
Computer pirates steal cryptocurrencies “through the dissemination of cryptocurrency trade applications that were modified to include malware that facilitates cryptocurrency theft,” said the FBI.
In an online public service advertisement on Wednesday night, the FBI said that the computer pirates backed by North Korea were “responsible for theft.”
“Commercial actors are proceeding quickly and have turned some of the assets stolen from Bitcoin and other virtual assets scattered in thousands of addresses in multiple blockchains,” said the FBI in his announcement. “These assets are expected to be lacked even more and eventually become fiduciary currency.”
The state media of North Korea have not recognized the theft or the accusation of the FBI. Pyongyang’s mission before the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comments from Associated Press.
However, North Korea has stolen an estimated $ 1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets in the last five years, according to the South Korean Espionage Agency. It represents a rare source of poorly necessary foreign currency to support its fragile economy and finance its nuclear program against intense UN sanctions and strict border closures of North Korea during the coronavirus pandemic.
A UN panel said separately, he said he was investigating 58 alleged cyber attacks by North Korea between 2017 and 2023 that about $ 3 billion were stolen for “according to reports, helps finance the development of the country of weapons of mass destruction.”
The co -founder and CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, acknowledged the announcement of the FBI in a publication on the social platform X by linking to a website that offers $ 140 million in rewards to track the stolen cryptography and make other exchanges freeze.
Bybit has said that an Ethereum routine transfer, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, from a so -called “cold” or offline wallet was “manipulated” by an attacker who transferred the cryptography to an unidentified direction. The Blockchain Certik analysis firm has described theft as “the greatest rape” in the history of blockchain transactions.
Theft has seen The general prices of cryptography fall in recent days As investors in part have been scared by Hack even though the industry received an impulse from the election of US President Donald Trump. The industry leader, Bitcoin, quoted more than $ 82,000 per currency on Thursday, below more than $ 100,000 a month ago.
