Tag Archive for: $400M

North Korea’s Booming Hacking Industry Stole $400M in Cryptocurrency Last Year

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North Korean hackers stole $400 million worth of cryptocurrency last year, “launching at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms,” new research has found.

The findings released by Chainalysis, a software company that monitors cryptocurrency, found that the attacks targeted “primarily investment firms and centralized exchanges.”

The hackers “made use of phishing lures, code exploits, malware, and advanced social engineering to siphon funds out of these organizations’ internet-connected ‘hot’ wallets into DPRK-controlled addresses,” Chainalysis wrote on Thursday. “Once North Korea gained custody of the funds, they began a careful laundering process to cover up and cash out.”

The company found between 2020 and 2021, the number of hacks linked to North Korea increased from four to seven, “and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40 percent.”

“In terms of dollar value, Bitcoin now accounts for less than one-fourth of the cryptocurrencies stolen by DPRK, Chainalysis wrote. “In 2021, only 20 percent of the stolen funds were Bitcoin, whereas 22 percent were either ERC-20 tokens or altcoins. And for the first time ever, Ether accounted for a majority of the funds stolen at 58 percent.”

The company’s research claimed that many of the attacks were likely carried out by the state-sponsored Lazarus Group, which the U.S. has sanctioned and blamed for hacks including the WannaCry ransomware attacks in 2017.

“From 2018 on, The group has stolen and laundered massive sums of virtual currencies every year, typically in excess of $200 million,” Chainalysis wrote, noting that the most successful hacks, one targeting the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and the other targeting an unnamed cryptocurrency exchange, “each netted more than $250 million alone.”

The researchers wrote that according to the United Nations Security Council, the money from the hacks “goes to support North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missile programs.”

North Korea's Booming Hacking Industry Stole $400M
North Korean hackers stole $400 million worth of cryptocurrency last year, “launching at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms,” new research has found. Above, people visit the statues of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang on the…

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Gov. Walz Combats False Reports That He Spent Thanksgiving Weekend In Florida, Has $400M Net Worth – WCCO

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — After a long weekend in which Gov. Tim Walz begged Minnesotans not to travel, some may have been surprised by some online reports.

Social media was filled with news that while protestors demonstrated against restrictions this weekend at his residence, Walz was vacationing in Florida.

Another widely-shared story is that Walz, who talks often of his and his wife’s careers as public school teachers, is suddenly a wealthy man, worth $400 million.

Walz says both the trip and his alleged wealth are definitely not true.

“I have not left the state since March, since [the pandemic] happened,” Walz said. “The thing I most worry about though is if you are willing to believe those types of things without any proof, you’re probably not going to listen to me when I tell you to wear a mask.”

The governor’s staff at first brushed off the comments, but then the volume increased, and the public began calling the governor’s office to complain about the imaginary Florida trip.

Mark Lanterman, a former cyber security investigator for the United States Secret Service, now runs the cybersecurity firm Computer Forensics Services.

“We need to remember that just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true,” Lanterman said.

He says it’s important to remember websites, like the one that’s disseminating false information about Walz’s net worth, may also be making money.

“Many organizations with web pages get paid based on the number of clicks that are driven to their webpage, whether that’s a quarter cent or half a cent, it all depends,” Lanterman said.

The governor and Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm say this latest spread of fake news, like the virus, is weaving its way into people lives, creating an alternate reality that can also be deadly.

“It’s deeper than that because it goes to undermining the policies,” Walz said.

“People saying, ‘Well don’t bother to get tested because the state is cooking the numbers,’” Malcolm said. “That’s horribly dangerous.”

The governor’s office says they do not know where, or who, originated the reports. Lanterman says the origin of internet fake news stories…

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All your reaction GIFs now belong to Facebook, as it buys Giphy for $400M

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Ironically, their logo is static, not animated.

Enlarge / Ironically, their logo is static, not animated. (credit: Giphy)

Seven years ago, Facebook claimed not to support the 21st century’s new favorite communication tool, the animated GIF. Oh, how times have changed: Today, Facebook’s newest acquisition is one of the Internet’s most popular GIF hosting sites.

Facebook is making Giphy part of the Instagram team, the company said today. Axios, which was first to report the transaction, said the deal was valued at about $ 400 million.

According to Facebook, about half of Giphy’s current traffic already comes from Facebook products, especially Instagram. That’s perhaps unsurprising, given that Facebook’s big three apps—WhatsApp, Instagram, and flagship Facebook—have literally billions of daily users among them.

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Biz & IT – Ars Technica

Two new cryptocurrency heists make off with over $400M worth of blockchange

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Enlarge / It’s where the money is. (credit: iStock/Getty Images)

The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has shut down trading and withdrawals from accounts after a reported theft of more than 500 million XEM—the blockchain-based cryptocurrency created by the NEM Foundation. At the time of the theft, 500 million XEM was worth approximately $ 400 million US. Police were reportedly at Coincheck’s offices.

Coincheck announced the shutdown of NEM deposits at about noon Japan Standard Time Friday (10:00pm Eastern Time on Thursday). In a follow-up announcement four hours later, a company spokesperson expanded the shutdown to all currencies, and by 6pm JST all payment processing had been suspended. “We sincerely apologize for these inconveniences and will continue to do our best to be back to normal operations as soon as possible,” the spokesperson wrote. At about the same time, police were seen at Coincheck’s offices.

Ars attempted to reach representatives of Coincheck and the NEM Foundation without success. Lon Wong, the president of the NEM Foundation, was quoted by Sead Fadilpašić and Stuart Garlick of Cryptonews.com as saying, “This is the biggest theft in the history of the world.” Wong told Cryptonews that NEM’s technology was not responsible and that Coincheck did not implement NEM’s multi-signature smart contract, “and that’s why they could have been hacked. They were very relaxed with their security measures.” It is not clear if there was actually a “hack” at this point.

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Biz & IT – Ars Technica