The identity of the hacker group that stole about $31 million worth of bitcoins has been identified.
A North Korean state-backed hacker group is behind the theft of $308 million worth of bitcoins from Japanese cryptocurrency (digital currency) exchange DMM Bitcoin, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This cyber attack, which took place at the end of last May, is considered as a major threat against the security system of digital currency.
According to the FBI, a hacker group called Trader Traitor is behind the theft of Bitcoin from DMM Bitcoin. These hackers are believed to be part of the notorious Lazarus group. The Lazarus Group has been operating various cyber criminal activities from North Korea for a long time. The Bitcoin theft is a major example of state-sponsored cyber activity in North Korea, which is being used as a source of alternative currency to combat the country's economic crisis.
The DMM Bitcoin heist is very well planned. The hackers first contacted a DMM Bitcoin employee on LinkedIn to steal the bitcoins.
The employer then impersonates the worker and sends the file containing questions to the worker to participate in the initial recruitment test. As the file contained phishing software, hackers gained control of the employee's computer shortly after downloading it. The hackers then broke into DMM Bitcoin's trading system and withdrew $308 million worth of Bitcoins to their accounts.
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North Korea, which has lost access to global economic activity due to international sanctions, is using digital currency theft as an alternative economic source, cyber security experts believe. The DMM Bitcoin theft is a recent example of this North Korean tactic.
Hackers in the country have already hacked crypto exchanges, digital wallets and stolen a lot of digital currency from various institutions.
