Stake’s hackers Make Fresh MATIC, BNB Tokens Transfer to New Address
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Blockchain security platform CertiK has announced that the hackers behind the recent $41 million Stake casino breach have moved another $328,000 worth of Polygon (MATIC) and Binance Coin (BNB).
North Korean-Sponsored Hacker Group Continues Rampage
On September 11, CertiK stated that it had seen and monitored the movement of a North Korean-sponsored group reportedly responsible for pilfering $41 million from Stake online casino.
The blockchain security firm announced via X (formerly known as Twitter) that 520,000 MATIC tokens worth over $266,000 were swapped and bridged to the Avalanche chain by the Stake exploiter.
We are seeing a further movement of funds from the Stake exploiter.
520k MATIC was swapped and bridged to Avalanche before being bridged to BTC as per other fund movements from the exploiter.
See more on Skynet 👇https://t.co/Sdsfh29AoF
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) September 11, 2023
Prior to this, 300 BNB tokens worth approximately $61,500 were transferred to externally owned addresses bridged also to the Avalanche chain.
Arkham, another reportable blockchain security platform, states that the 520,000 MATIC and 300 BNB totaled $328,000 and add to a staggering $4.5 million of stolen funds transferred to the Bitcoin Chain as BTC tokens.
https://x.com/ArkhamIntel/status/1699762892005146962?s=20
However, the total traceable transfers of these assets only represent 1.2% of the $41 million exploit made by the alleged North Korean hacker, heralded as “The Lazarus Group.”
According to the United States Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) report, the North Korean hackers are responsible for the latest crypto heist plaguing Stake and other networks.
https://x.com/FBI/status/1700282936338137219?s=20
The FBI further iterated that the shocking breach of Stake on September 4 is just one of many hacks carried out by the Lazarus Group.
https://x.com/Stake/status/1698746766076588057?s=20
According to the public investigation report, addresses of dozens of digital wallets that contained stolen digital assets were listed.
The hacker group funneled these assets across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, and the Binance Chain networks.
US Government Clapback May Be Imminent
The FBI’s latest report stated that the cyber group has stolen over $200 million since the start of the year. Some of its recent heists include a $100 million theft from Atomic Wallet on June 3 and $60 million stolen from Aplhapo and CoinsPaid in July.
https://x.com/BleepinComputer/status/1684297490906988550?s=20
The crypto analytics firm Elliptic has also cited North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the major driver in over $2 billion in digital assets thefts across multiple DeFi networks.
In April 2022, the United States Treasury Department connected the cyber group to a staggering $622 million cyber theft that drained the Ronin Network, arguably one of the biggest exploits to date.
The Network updated its press release, citing that the Treasury Department has sanctioned the address to which the stolen assets were transferred.
However, within the crypto community, there is speculation that a retaliatory response from the U.S. government may be on the way.
The U.S. government had previously sanctioned the Lazarus Group via its Treasury Department on September 13, 2019. These cyber operations were part of North Korea’s efforts to generate funds for nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Military experts believe using cybercrime and virtual currency theft to fund military endeavors could potentially trigger a military response from the United States.
While this is a mere opinionated prediction, the FBI and other intrinsic investigative agencies of the U.S. aim to continue exposing North Korea’s illicit activities for the public to see.
