North Korea $147.5M Money Laundering via Tornado Cash

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As a seasoned crypto investor who has closely followed the news and developments in the industry for years, I find the latest revelation about North Korean money laundering through Tornado Cash deeply concerning. The fact that they managed to launder $147.5 million in stolen crypto last March is alarming enough, but the reported 97 cyberattacks from 2017 to 2024 totaling $3.6 billion is downright shocking.

Experts at the United Nations monitoring team have discovered proof of North Korean involvement in money laundering activities worth approximately $147.5 million through the virtual platform Tornado Cash, which occurred in March. The team’s report also reveals that there were around 97 suspected cyberattacks initiated by North Korea on cryptocurrency firms between the years 2017 and 2024, resulting in a total loss of approximately $3.6 billion.

North Korean hackers allegedly made off with $147.5 million in stolen cryptocurrency from a exchange last year and successfully laundered this ill-gotten gain via the Tornado Cash virtual platform in March, as reported by unnamed experts from the United Nations.

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) May 14, 2024

North Korean hacking groups are reportedly responsible for eleven cryptocurrency heists in the year 2024, amassing a total of $54.7 million in ill-gotten gains. Remarkably, some of these attacks involved North Korean IT workers who had inadvertently been employed by small crypto businesses, providing them with the means to exploit vulnerabilities.

In 2022, the U.S. authorities identified Tornado Cash as the suspected accomplice in alleged money laundering activities carried out by North Korean cybercriminals. Additionally, Alexey Pertsev, the creator of Tornado Cash, was given a prison sentence of 64 months in the Netherlands for laundering over $1.2 billion. It’s also important to note that North Korean cyber threats continue to pose risks, with the Kimsuky Group employing new malware named Durian to target South Korean cryptocurrency firms.

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2024-05-15 03:48