North Korean hackers start hiding stolen bitcoins

North Korean hackers from the Lazarus group have been record-breaking active, transferring dozens of bitcoins from account to account or to a cryptomixer. This was reported by analysts from Arkham Intelligence.

According to the platform, the hackers have already transferred 27,371 BTC ($ 1.2 million at the current exchange rate) to a cryptocurrency mixer and then sent 3,343 BTC to a previously used inactive address.

«The Lazarus Group has just made the largest transactions in a month,» the portal’s analysts say.

Now the hackers from the DPRK have about $ 79 million in their wallets. Although it is impossible to guess the group’s intentions, these transfers may indicate that Lazarus is preparing for more active operations, Arkham experts write.

Lazarus is believed to be sponsored by the North Korean government. They are responsible for a third of all hacker attacks in 2023. From 2017 to 2023, the attackers managed to steal about $ 3 billion, including in cryptocurrency. The Recorded Future platform claims that over the past six years, North Korean hackers have stolen more in cryptocurrency than the entire DPRK earns from exports in a year.

In November, the U.S. Treasury Department, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Sinbad for assisting Lazarus in laundering $ 850 million.