South Korea Confirms Lazarus Group's $41.5M Upbit Ethereum Heist

Nov 21, 2024, 09:03 AM

South Korean police have, for the first time, officially confirmed that North Korean hacker groups Lazarus and Andariel were responsible for the 2019 theft of 342,000 ETH from Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The stolen Ethereum was worth approximately 58 billion won ($41.5 million) at the time but has since increased in value to over $1 billion. The investigation, conducted by the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency, traced the hackers using IP addresses, language analysis, and cooperation with the FBI. Approximately 57% of the stolen ETH was exchanged for Bitcoin at a low price, with the remaining assets laundered through exchanges in over 51 countries. Authorities believe the stolen funds are being used to support North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs.