South Korean Police Link North Korea to 2019 Crypto Heist

South Korean police have confirmed that hackers linked to North Korea's military intelligence orchestrated a significant Ethereum cryptocurrency heist in 2019, originally valued at 58 billion won ($41.5 million) but now worth over 1.4 trillion won (approximately $1 billion). The National Police Agency attributed the theft to the Lazarus and Andariel groups, which are associated with North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau. More than half of the stolen tokens were laundered through three crypto exchanges created by the hackers, while the remainder was funneled through 51 other exchanges. This investigation, conducted in collaboration with the FBI, marks the first official identification of North Korea as the source of a cyberattack on a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange. The UN has reported that North Korea has conducted 97 cyberattacks on cryptocurrency platforms between 2017 and 2024, amassing around $3.6 billion, though Pyongyang continues to deny involvement in such activities. In a related effort, authorities recovered 4.8 Bitcoin valued at approximately 600 million won from a Swiss exchange in October.