The U.S. government has gone after stolen cryptocurrencies.

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The world of cryptocurrency is entering a new era in the fight against state-sponsored cybercrime. The legal process initiated by the U.S. government against the Lazarus Group aims to recover stolen assets and update international cybersecurity strategies. This move serves as a call for increased security measures within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

The U.S. Launched a $2.67 Million Operation Against North Korean Hackers

The U.S. government has filed two legal complaints to seize more than $2.67 million in digital assets stolen by the North Korean Lazarus hacker group. This step is seen as a significant indicator that state interventions in the cryptocurrency world will increase.

According to the legal filings, the U.S. government primarily aims to recover approximately $1.7 million worth of Tether (USDT) assets stolen in the Deribit attack that occurred in 2022. This attack had caused Deribit a loss of $28 million.

After taking over Deribit's hot wallet, the hackers laundered the stolen funds through the Tornado Cash mixer and various Ethereum (ETH) addresses to cover their tracks. This method is known to be a common practice in cryptocurrency thefts.

U.S. law enforcement officials have also taken action to recover approximately $970,000 worth of Avalanche-bridged Bitcoin (BTC.b) obtained from the Stake.com gambling platform attack carried out by the Lazarus Group in 2023. This attack had caused Stake.com a loss of over $41 million.

The Deribit and Stake.com attacks represent only a small portion of the cybercrimes attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group. Blockchain analysts believe that an attack in July 2024, which caused the WazirX exchange a loss of approximately $235 million, was also carried out by the same group.

Security concerns in the cryptocurrency world were further heightened by a report released in August. The report, prepared by blockchain analyst ZackXBT, revealed that North Korean developers had infiltrated at least 25 cryptocurrency projects. These developers used fake identities to gain access to projects, compromise codes, and loot treasuries.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a series of warnings about the Lazarus Group in September 2024. Among these warnings were the social engineering strategies employed by the group. According to the FBI, hackers establish relationships with their victims by sending fake job offers and applications, encouraging them to download malware.