Recently the US officials revealed that a North Korea-backed hacker group has targeted the online game Axie Infinity for a massive cryptocurrency heist worth more than $615m. In this online game, players earn crypto through gameplay or trading their avatars.
US officials claimed that this hack could be one of the biggest cyber-attacks in the crypto world. They also mentioned the name of the group responsible for this data breach. The group is known as “Lazarus” which is controlled by North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau. This group gained notoriety in 2014 when it hacked Sony Pictures and publicly explored all the confidential data. At that time, they demanded to withdraw the movie “The Interview”. The film was based on the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The FBI shared a statement where they explained, “Through our investigations, we were able to confirm Lazarus Group and APT38, cyber actors associated with [North Korea], are responsible for the theft” recently the United Nations panel found that North Korea has accused Pyongyang of utilizing funds to support its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
According to the US military report, North Korea has grown a 6,000-strong cyber warfare unit that is popularly known as Bureau 121. It operates in several countries such as Belarus, China, India, Malaysia, and Russia. A Treasury Department spokesperson said, “The United States is aware that the DPRK has increasingly relied on illicit activities – including cybercrime – to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs as it tries to evade robust US and UN sanctions.”