FBI identifies six Bitcoin addresses controlled by North Korean hackers

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified six Bitcoin (BTC) wallets with over 1,500 BTC that’s reportedly connected to the Lazarus Group, a hacking group allegedly sponsored by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK). 

Lazarus Group, the agency said, moved about 1,580 BTC, worth nearly $41 million, from several crypto heists to six Bitcoin wallet addresses. They also added that the group may look to liquidate and asked crypto exchanges to be vigilant and not processes requests from the six addresses. 

“Private sector entities should examine the blockchain data associated with these addresses and be vigilant in guarding against transactions directly with, or derived from, the addresses.”

Statement from the FBI press release

The six addresses holding the stolen BTC are:

• 3LU8wRu4ZnXP4UM8Yo6kkTiGHM9BubgyiG

• 39idqitN9tYNmq3wYanwg3MitFB5TZCjWu

• 3AAUBbKJorvNhEUFhKnep9YTwmZECxE4Nk

• 3PjNaSeP8GzLjGeu51JR19Q2Lu8W2Te9oc

• 3NbdrezMzAVVfXv5MTQJn4hWqKhYCTCJoB

• 34VXKa5upLWVYMXmgid6bFM4BaQXHxSUoL

Lazarus Group has been linked to several high-profile crypto hacks. Some of them include attacks on the Harmony Bridge, Atomic Wallet, and Sky Mavis’ Ronin Bridge, among many others.

Research carried out by a blockchain security company, Elliptic, revealed that the DPRK-sponsored hacking group stole over $2 billion worth of coins between 2017 and 2022. Out of this, most targeted entities in Japan as it accounted for 30% of the total losses at around $721 million.

In 2022 alone, Lazarus Group stole almost $1 billion worth of digital assets.