On December 24, news emerged regarding the theft of 48.2 billion yen worth of Bitcoin from the cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin. The Japanese National Police Agency reported on December 24 that the incident was carried out by a North Korea-based cyber attack organization called Trader Traitor. South Korea announced that the crime had been confirmed. Through a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Defense's Cyber Crime Center (DC3), the agency identified the perpetrator of the theft of 4,502.9 BTC that occurred in May 2024. Trader Traitor is believed to be affiliated with the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group, and the attack was conducted in multiple stages. The National Police Agency stated that they will continue to collaborate with the FBI, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners to investigate the illegal activities of North Korean hackers, including cyber crimes and cryptocurrency theft incidents.
