North Korean Hackers Suspected in New $35M Crypto Heist

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New York CNN

North Korean hackers were likely behind the theft of at least $35 million from a popular cryptocurrency service, several crypto-tracking experts told CNN on Tuesday.

It is the latest in a series of hacks of Pyongyang-linked cryptocurrency firms that US officials fear could be used to fund North Korean regimes’ nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.

Hackers emptied the cryptocurrency accounts of some customers of Atomic Wallet, an Estonia-based company that claims 5 million users of its software.

Atomic Wallet said on Saturday that less than 1% of monthly users appeared to be affected by the hack. The company did not specify how much money might have been stolen or who was behind the hack. CNN has asked the firm for comment.

Some of the apparent victims of the hack have taken to Twitter demanding the hackers get their money back, posting their cryptocurrency addresses in case the hackers take pity on them.

North Korean hackers have stolen billions of dollars from banks and cryptocurrency firms over the past few years, providing a critical source of revenue for the regime, according to reports from the United Nations and private companies.

In the Atomic Wallet incident, the hackers’ money laundering techniques and the tools they used matched telltale North Korean behavior, according to London-based crypto-tracking firm Elliptic.

An independent cryptocurrency tracker known as ZachXBT told CNN that North Korean hackers were most likely responsible. The confirmed amount stolen could exceed $35 million as Atomic Wallet continues to investigate the incident, the analyst said.

The pattern was similar to what we saw with the laundering of Harmony funds in January, ZachXBT said, referring to the laundering of $100 million stolen from a California-based company.

The FBI blamed North Korea for the Harmony hack. CNN reported how South Korean private investigators and intelligence agents were able to recover a fraction of that money.

Countering North Korean hacking and money laundering has quickly become a national security priority for the Biden administration. About half of North Korea’s missile program was funded by cyberattacks and cryptocurrency thefts, a White House official said last month.

CNN has asked the FBI for comment on the Atomic Wallet hack.

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