The FBI has accused hackers linked to North Korea of carrying out one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts ever known, with a haul of approximately 1.5 billion dollars in ethereum, stolen from the Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange firm, Bybit.
This attack, which occurred in early February 2025, represents a new attack carried out by a group of hackers known to the United States government as TraderTraitor, also related to the Lazarus Group.
The theft highlights North Korea's growing prowess in cybercrime and the use of these funds to finance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, evading international sanctions.
According to the FBI, the strikers stole the cryptocurrencies through the distribution of modified cryptocurrency exchange applications, which contained malware designed to siphon funds.
The cryptocurrencies were transferred from a "cold wallet" of Bybit, a type of offline wallet considered secure, to an unknown address. The hackers used a sophisticated exploit through a fake interface, almost identical to Bybit's legitimate platform, to deceive users.
The stolen funds were quickly converted into Bitcoin and dispersed through thousands of addresses on different blockchains, which complicates the task of tracking and recovering the money.
This theft is one of the largest in blockchain history, even surpassing the billion-dollar theft carried out by Saddam Hussein through Iraq's central bank before the 2003 war.
The FBI has warned that the stolen assets are likely to be laundered and eventually converted into fiat money, which would further contribute to North Korea's finances.
The Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea, is known for carrying out cyberattacks for financial purposes, and the FBI has identified TraderTraitor as one of its recent operations.
Additionally, the South Korean intelligence agency has reported that between 2017 and 2023, North Korean hackers stole more than 3 billion dollars in cyberattacks, a large portion of which is believed to have been used to fund the development of weapons of mass destruction.
