United States’ security service Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and some independent investigators have recovered around $30 million worth of cryptocurrency from North Korean linked hackers. The crypto money was stolen from a popular online game Axie Infinity, informed Chainalysis, a crypto intelligence firm who worked with the FBI to get back the stolen money.
US agencies find a breakthrough
According to Chainalysis, the recovered amount is only 10 percent of the entire stolen funds from Ronin network, a blockchain network built especially for the online game where the players play and earn, in March. US law enforcement is continuing its efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars that these hackers have allegedly looted from various US cryptocurrency firms in the last few months. The latest incident is an achievement for the US government as part of its continuous efforts. The US authorities are cautious about the stolen funds being used by North Korea to fund its government’s nuclear weapons programs.
The $30 million recovered is a small portion of more than the $600 million that FBI claims the North Korean hackers have stolen from Sky Mavis. This is the company that owns an office in Vietnam and makes video games that provides users an opportunity to earn digital money. This achievement is a big breakthrough, according to Chainalysis’ senior director of investigations Erin Plante, for the US enforcement agencies and investigators are making huge efforts to recover the remaining amount.
US Dept put sanctions
Chainalysis said in a statement, “According to our estimates, North Korea-affiliated groups have stolen almost $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from DeFi protocols so far in 2022.” The decentralized finance is an umbrella term for all financial services offered in public blockchains.
The Axie Infinity crime was used to launder money, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury, which in May sanctioned the virtual currency mixer Blender. The hackers were connected to the hack in April according to the Treasury Department.
According to the US Justice Department, the North Korean hackers attacked variously. They used ransomware, a type of malicious software that blocks computer access for ransom purpose, for targeting medical owners in Kansas and Colorado cities last year. However, the department successfully recovered half the amount the hackers extorted from these areas.
The Treasury Department have reached close to the hackers as they came down heavily on them by sanctioning some of their accounts, they have used to transfer money and a mixer- a service that the hackers have allegedly used to launder the looted cryptocurrency. The efforts by the agencies have put some hurdles on the path of the North Korean hackers to use the stolen funds.
