Japanese police confirm that the DMM Bitcoin theft incident was carried out by the North Korean hacker organization Lazarus Group.

According to ChainCatcher, and reported by CoinDesk Japan, regarding the theft of 4,502.9 BTC from the cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin that occurred in May, the Japanese National Police Agency announced on December 24 that the incident was perpetrated by the Trader Traitor, a hacker organization under the North Korea-based Lazarus Group.

The Japanese National Police Agency stated that it will continue to work with the FBI, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners to investigate the illegal activities of North Korean hackers, including cybercrime and encrypted asset theft incidents.

Meanwhile, the Japanese National Police Agency, the Cabinet Cybersecurity Center, and the Financial Services Agency have issued documents regarding the means and countermeasures of attack groups, urging companies related to encrypted assets to be cautious. In response to this attack incident, DMM Bitcoin has decided to close its exchange. Assets and customer accounts will be transferred to SBIVC Trade, with the transition expected to be completed by March 2025.