North Korean Hacking Group Tied to $100M Harmony Hack Moves 41,000 Ether Over Weekend

Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said on Monday that part of the funds tied to last year’s $100 million attack on the Harmony network were moved over the weekend.

“North Korea’s Lazarus Group had a very busy weekend, moving $63.5 million (~41,000 ETH) from the Harmony bridge hack through Railgun before consolidating funds and depositing on three different exchanges,” ZachXBT alerted on Twitter.

1/2 North Korea’s Lazarus Group had a very busy weekend moving $63.5m (~41000 ETH) from the Harmony bridge hack through Railgun before consolidating funds and depositing on three different exchanges. pic.twitter.com/huDumaJeSh

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 15, 2023

Over 350 addresses linked to the attackers have been compiled in a list by ZachXBT.

The Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking group believed to be supported by the regime of dictator Kim Jung Un, is likely behind last year’s hack of Harmony Bridge, according to analysis by blockchain research firm Elliptic, as previously reported by CoinDesk.

The attack drained the service, which enables crypto assets to be traded between the Harmony blockchain and other blockchains, of $100 million worth of crypto, including ether (ETH), tether (USDT) and wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) on the morning of June 24.

The Harmony Bridge hack is consistent with other hacks attributed to the Lazarus Group, including the $635 million Ronin Bridge hack in March, which is so far the largest hack in the history of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Meanwhile, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao wrote Monday that addresses connected to the hack moved the stolen stash to crypto exchange Huobi, which blocked the transfers and froze the accounts. Over 124 bitcoin were recovered, Zhao said.