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FBI identifies Lazarus Group as culprits of Stake hack
US federal government agency names North Korean hacker group as responsible for the theft of $41m from the crypto-first operator
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a press release that attributes the recent hack and theft of $41m from Stake to the Lazarus Group, a North Korea state-sponsored hacking group.
Following an investigation, the FBI found that the Lazarus Group, also known as APT38, moved stolen funds associated with Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Polygon networks from the operator to a number of cryptocurrency accounts on or around 4 September.
The federal government agency has called upon all blockchain monitors and cryptocurrency exchanges to closely watch the addresses associated with the hack, and refrain from any transactions with the aforementioned addresses.
The inital hack was first reported by on-chain analysts at Cyver, that noted that an initial $16m had been siphoned from the operator.
Further hacks reportedly saw $7.8m lost on Polygon and $17.8m stolen on the Binance Smart Chain. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned the Lazarus Group in 2019 when it added it to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (also known as the SDN List).
The ramifications of which mean any US assets the group may have are blocked, and their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the US and other countries, making it harder for individuals to hold bank accounts, transfer money or buy property.