Norwegian police have seized $5.9M that was stolen in last year's $620M Axie Infinity breach from the Lazarus Group.
This is one of the largest operations of its kind in Norway's history.
- In March 2022, North Korean hackers conducted one of the largest-ever crypto hacks, stealing $620M from the Ronin Bridge sidechain of Axie Infinity.
- During
this breach, Lazarus Group stole cryptocurrency that belonged to 750
Norwegian citizens, causing the country's police to initiate an
investigation.
- Once they tracked the addresses tied to the
breach, authorities cooperated with popular cryptocurrency exchange
Binance to freeze the funds.
- Norway law authorities stated that the operation was conducted in cooperation with the FBI.
- Norway's
officials stated that the funds that North Korea-backed hackers steal
are used to develop the country's nuclear program, a sentiment that has
been shared in the past by U.S. authorities.
-
Lazarus
became famous when it hacked Sony Pictures in 2014 and leaked films,
emails, and personal data belonging to 4,000 employees. This breach is
believed to have been launched as revenge for the film "The Interview,"
which parodied Kim Jong-un.
