Infamous North Korean hacker group Lazarus is probably going behind the latest exploit of Concord horizon bridge, resulting in the lack of $100 million, says Elliptics.
In its report on the hack, the blockchain analytics agency stated the methods employed for the assault are much like these used for the Ronin Bridge exploit a number of months in the past.
The hacker stole $100 million price of belongings in several cryptocurrencies similar to ETH, WBTC, USDT, and BNB. However they instantly transformed all the things into ETH utilizing Uniswap (UNI). Elliptics defined that this can be a frequent laundering method that criminals use.
Though the theft occurred on June 24, the hacker didn’t transfer the funds till June 27. The hackers have moved round 41% of the funds — equal to roughly 39,000 ETH — by way of Twister Money to make the funds untraceable as of press time.
However Elliptics claimed it used transaction screening software program to hint the stolen funds passing by way of Twister money to new wallets.
Why Elliptics is linking the hack to Lazarus Group
In line with the blockchain analytics agency, its evaluation of the hack and laundering reveals that it’s in keeping with how the Lazarus group operates. Whereas there’s nothing conclusive to show this, circumstantial proof factors to it.
Lazarus Group is among the world’s most profitable crypto hacking teams, with over $2 billion in proceeds. In recent times, it has began exploiting cross-chain bridges and was answerable for the Ronin Bridge that price Axie Infinity round $600 million.
Moreover, the hacker compromised keys to a multi-sig pockets to perpetrate the theft, which is in keeping with the strategies utilized by the Lazarus Group.
The agency additionally identified that Concord falls into the profile of Lazarus Group targets. Though US-based, a lot of Concord’s core group members have hyperlinks within the Asia Pacific area, the place Lazarus Group often focuses.
Moreover, the consistency of deposits by way of Twister money and the interval when the deposits occurred is in keeping with the Lazarus Group laundering of Ronin bridge funds and APAC nighttime hours.
Nevertheless, the agency added that it could proceed its investigations.
North Korea’s crypto theft hyperlinks
North Korea has turn out to be the boogeyman for crypto initiatives in recent times. A examine by Coincub estimated that the nation is main in crypto crimes globally.
Not like different nations the place crypto crimes are largely underground, most experiences level to crypto theft in North Korea being state-sponsored. A UN report earlier this 12 months claims North Korea is funding its ballistics and weapons applications with stolen crypto.
