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Feds Move To Seize Cryptocurrency Accounts Linked To North Korean Hacker Heists

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Aug 27, 2020, 11:17pm EDT

TOPLINE

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint Thursday against 280 cryptocurrency accounts that were allegedly used by North Korean hackers and their Chinese accomplices to steal and launder over $250 million from over a dozen virtual exchanges.

KEY FACTS

DOJ and Internal Revenue Service agents said the North Korean hackers, who U.S. officials digitally traced back to the country’s intelligence bureau, used malware to get access to the exchanges and steal from user accounts before laundering the money through Chinese middlemen, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In March, the U.S. indicted and sanctioned two Chinese nationals for allegedly helping North Korean hackers launder around $100 million in stolen cryptocurrency.

“Today’s action publicly exposes the ongoing connections between North Korea’s cyber-hacking program and a Chinese cryptocurrency money laundering network,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Thursday’s filing was the first publicly announced case of a U.S. virtual exchange being targeted by North Korea.

According to United Nations experts and U.S. officials, North Korea uses the proceeds from cyber-theft to fund its military and nuclear programs.

Key background

Officials say North Korea, which is barred from participating in the international finance system, uses cyber attacks to circumvent global sanctions and boost its geopolitical relevance. In July the U.S. Army released a report highlighting North Korea’s cyber attacks as a national-security threat. The report estimated North Korea has a special cyber-warfare unit with as many as 6,000 members positioned across the globe. On Wednesday the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. Cyber Command issued a joint statement warning that hackers tied to the North Korean government were trying to drain bank accounts across the globe by hacking ATMs and setting up phony money transfers.

Further Reading

U.S. Moves to Seize Cryptocurrency Accounts Linked to North Korean Heists (Wall Street Journal)

Two Chinese Nationals Indicted in Alleged North Korean Bitcoin Hack (Wall Street Journal)

U.S. Warns of Global Bank Heist Campaign by North Korean Hackers (Wall Street Journal)

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