Lazarus Group Linked To Atomic Wallet Hack: Protect Your Crypto Now!

Key Points:

• Illicit funds from the $35M Atomic Wallet hack traced to North Korea’s most notorious cyber-hacking group, laundered with crypto mixer Sinbad.io, linked to Blender.io.
• More than $100M in crypto assets stolen by Lazarus Group previously laundered through the same mixer.
• Victims urged to track illicit transfers & report them to crypto exchanges to prevent scammers from exchanging their funds.

Illicit funds gained from the $35 million Atomic Wallet hack have been moving to a crypto mixer known to be favored by North Korea’s most notorious cyber-hacking group.

This is a concerning development, as it suggests that the group may be using the stolen funds to finance their illegal activities.

On June 5, blockchain compliance analytics firm Elliptic reported that its Investigations Team has traced funds from the $35 million Atomic Wallet hack to crypto mixer Sinbad.io. This means that the hackers are attempting to hide the origin of the funds by mixing them with legitimate cryptocurrency transactions.

It claims the mixing service was previously used to launder more than $100 million in crypto assets stolen by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. This shows that the group has a history of using similar tactics to hide their illegal activities.

Elliptic did not specify how much was sent to the mixer but noted that the loot was being swapped for Bitcoin, before being obfuscated through the mixer. This means that the hackers are not only attempting to hide the origin of the funds, but also trying to convert them into a more widely accepted cryptocurrency.

The firm also reported that Sinbad.io is likely to be a rebranded version of Blender.io, “another mixer heavily used to launder Lazarus Group funds,” and the first mixer to be sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. This suggests that the mixer may have changed its name to avoid detection by authorities.

Several Atomic Wallet user accounts were compromised on June 3 resulting in losses of up to $35 million. However, the firm played down the incident claiming that the attack impacted less than 1% of its monthly active users. This shows that the number of victims may not be as high as initially feared.

Atomic Wallet chief marketing officer, Roland Säde, told Cointelegraph the team is “doing everything they can to get those funds back,” before adding: “In order to create a concrete plan, the investigation must be completed.” Despite the team’s efforts, it remains unclear whether the funds will be recovered.

“Of course, the team is devastated as we have been very proud about our security. We are working around the clock to get it all resolved and come out of this crisis stronger than before.”

He suggested that victims track the illicit transfers and report them to the most popular crypto exchanges, which “could prevent the scammers from exchanging their funds.” This is an important step that could help prevent the hackers from profiting from their illegal activities.

“Of course, we are also reporting them directly, but the more eyes on hackers the harder it is for them to move them,” he said. This emphasizes the need for a collective effort to combat cybercrime and protect the financial system from fraudulent activities.

However, it could be too late for many in light of Elliptic’s latest findings. It is important that individuals and organizations remain vigilant and take steps to protect their assets from cyber-attacks and other illegal activities.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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Annie

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