The Lazarus hacking group from North Korea is reported to have reverted to an old tactic to launder $23 million obtained during an attack in November. According to investigators at Elliptic, a blockchain research company, the funds, which were part of the $112.5 million stolen from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange, have been laundered through the Tornado Cash mixing service.
Elliptic highlighted the significance of this move, noting that Lazarus had previously switched to Sinbad.io after U.S. authorities sanctioned Tornado Cash in August 2022. However, Sinbad.io was later sanctioned in November. Elliptic observed that Lazarus Group appears to have resumed using Tornado Cash to obscure the trail of their transactions, with over $23 million laundered through approximately 60 transactions.
The researchers explained that this shift in behavior likely stems from the limited availability of large-scale mixers following law enforcement actions against services like Sinbad.io and Blender.io. Despite being sanctioned, Tornado Cash continues to operate due to its decentralized nature, making it immune to seizure and shutdown like centralized mixers.
Elliptic has been monitoring the movement of the stolen $112.5 million since HTX attributed the incident to Lazarus. The funds remained dormant until March 13 when they were observed passing through Tornado Cash, corroborated by other blockchain security firms.
This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents
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