Norwegian authorities tracked down and intercepted 60 million kroner ($5.9 million) in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean attackers last year.
The Scandinavian nation’s economic and environmental crime agency (Økokrim) has claimed that North Korean threat actors have carried out a large-scale money laundering operation since the March 2022 attack on the Ronin Network.
“Økokrim is good at chasing money. This incident shows that criminals have great ability to track money on the blockchain, even with sophisticated methods.”
“We are working with FBI specialists to track cryptocurrencies. Cooperation like this between nations will make us, as a society, stand stronger in the fight against crime motivated by digital interests.” means.”
Ronin Network, built by Vietnamese blockchain game developer Sky Mavis, serves as an Ethereum sidechain for the Axie Infinity game.
However, the Pyongyang-backed APT group Lazarus was able to compromise the company’s network after an employee opened a malicious phishing email attachment. Hackers got an estimated $618 million in cryptocurrency and cash in the largest cyber heist in history.
Økokrim’s success comes months after investigators said they managed to seize $30 million in stolen funds from Ronin.
Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm involved in the attack, claimed North Korean hackers were using crypto mixer Tornado Cash to launder funds stolen in the attack.
These efforts are made even more urgent given that North Korea will likely use the stolen cryptocurrency to fund its burgeoning missile program.
“This is money that can support North Korea and its nuclear weapons program. So it’s important to track cryptocurrencies and try to stop money when you try to withdraw it for its physical value,” Bender said. Told.
The recently seized money has been returned to Sky Mavis so that refunds can be issued to some of the affected customers.
