US seizes $1.2 billion frozen after North Korean Binance hack

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday announced the seizure of $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance last month by hackers linked to North Korea.

It was also revealed that $400 million in crypto has been stolen by North Korea as part of a separate “FaceStealer” social engineering scheme.

Operatives were said to be luring victims into remote meetings made up of pre-recorded footage of past victims and AI-generated individuals. 

As part of the scam, something goes wrong in the meeting and the victim is encouraged to download a “fix” that contains malware that steals their crypto.

To counter the scheme, the US seized cloud-based infrastructure and 900 webcam videos of FaceStealer victims.

The billion-dollar seizure makes up a portion of $2.7 billion worth of stolen funds that were frozen by crypto firms Tether, Ripple, Circle, World Liberty Financial, and Arbitrum.

Over $6 billion was stolen from Binance overall. 

Many of the FaceStealer techniques were likely employed when hackers used fake job interviews to deliver malware to unsuspecting Binance employees.

Read more: How the Binance hack happened on-chain on Ethereum

Today’s DoJ report also highlighted how hackers are using crypto bridges, mixers, and exchanges to launder funds. 

It noted a previous cyber alert that urged node operators associated with THORChain to block transactions linked to TraderTraitor.

One laundering method it didn’t mention was the use of cheap memecoins, some of which were themed around Elon Musk.

The US claims North Korea uses stolen funds to develop its “rogue regime and illicit weapons program,” and that the US action allowed it to freeze the funds before they “got beyond law enforcement reach.

However, North Korea has denied any involvement in the hack and described the allegations as another “sinister attempt” from the US to damage its public image.

Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said, “It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the US misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds.”

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