• North Korean hackers responsible for the Harmony Bridge attack have attempted to launder $27 million in Ethereum (ETH).
• The funds were reportedly sent to six exchanges using three main wallet addresses.
• Upon receiving notification, some exchanges acted quickly, and part of the stolen assets were frozen.
In a shocking turn of events, North Korean hackers have attempted to launder an additional $27 million in Ethereum (ETH) from the Harmony Bridge exploit. This follows the FBI’s confirmation two weeks ago that two groups of North Korean government hackers were behind the attack.
The on-chain sleuth, ZachXBT, reported via Twitter on January 29th that the hackers had just finished laundering the funds. He stated that the hackers had tried to move the funds through exchanges as they did with the $63.9 million on January 13th. However, he refrained from disclosing which platforms had received the ETH.
Upon receiving notification of the transactions, some exchanges acted quickly and managed to freeze part of the stolen assets. However, when asked how much was frozen, ZachXBT would not comment. He only mentioned that it was up to the exchanges to disclose the information.
This is not the first time North Korean hackers have been linked to cybercrimes. In 2019, the United Nations Security Council revealed that North Korea had carried out numerous cyber-attacks, including the WannaCry ransomware attack, which affected over 230,000 computers in over 150 countries.
It is yet to be seen what will happen to the funds that were frozen. The FBI is yet to make any further comments on the matter, but it is clear that the cybercriminals will face serious consequences for their actions.
For now, the onus is on the exchanges to ensure that their systems are secure and that their customers’ funds are safe. It is also a reminder for all users to be vigilant when it comes to their online security.