FBI says North Korean hacking group Lazarus may be behind of a cyberattack on the Ronin blockchain which is behind the game Axie Infinity. Cybercriminals would have managed to steal 500 million euros in Ethereum.
500 million euros stolen in Ethereum by Lazarus
At the end of March, hackers carried out a sophisticated cyberattack against the Ronin blockchain. According to the FBI, the Lazarus hacker group could be behind this operation, now renamed “Ronin Validator Security Breach”. The Ronin Network company, makers of the Ronin blockchain and Axie Infinity game, said it is “always adding additional security measures before bringing the game back online, to mitigate future risks. We will have to wait until the end of April to be able to enjoy the game again”.
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Ronin Network says it will also hand over its ” bridge “ online by the end of the month. The bridge allows users to transfer funds between other blockchains and Axie Infinity. It has obviously been blocked since the attack. It is one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists to date. According to Chainanalysis, a group responsible for studying crypto-assets, the Lazarus hackers are linked to North Korea’s intelligence agency. An agency responsible for seven major cyberattacks in 2021.
Upcoming sanctions against North Korea?
The United States threatens to freeze the assets of Lazarus. Indeed, Washington is seeking to pass a resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would freeze the assets of Lazarus and would be a direct blow to the resources of the North Korean government. This move could be part of a broader draft resolution that would impose new sanctions on North Korea for its new ballistic missile launches. Federal authorities are warning critical infrastructure operators to be on high alert.
The group gained notoriety by hacking Sony Pictures in 2014 and by showing off in the WannaCry ransomware. Lazarus hackers are also known to have used Trojan-like malware to steal millions from ATMs in Asia and Africa in 2018. The hackers had managed to remove millions of dollars simultaneously at ATMs in 30 different countries. Pirates are not at their first attempt.