North Korean Hackers: Washington Seizes $1.2 Billion in Stolen Crypto - Daily Beirut
The US Department of Justice has obtained a judicial order to seize or freeze more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrencies stolen from Binance by North Korean hackers, while also dismantling an online fraud network that stole over $400 million using fake video calls.
According to Coin Academy, the US Department of Justice obtained the judicial order on Thursday, November 12, targeting funds linked to the hacking operation against Binance in late October. This represents the first major judicial outcome since the record-breaking hack, with the DOJ announcing these funds constitute part of more than $2.7 billion frozen through cooperation between US authorities and private companies.
Money tracking operations continue as hackers transferred digital assets via blockchain bridges and used cryptocurrency mixing services to obscure the funds' origins. The DOJ attributed the attack to the "Trader Traitor" group, which it links to the North Korean army, accusing them of stealing over $6 billion from Binance around October 29.
The North Korean regime finances its illicit armament program through cryptocurrency theft.
Binance Compensation
In response to the breach, Binance announced it had completed covering affected users' assets. The platform had estimated losses at approximately $6.3 billion and allocated $6.34 billion of its own funds to compensate users. Hours before the DOJ announcement, Binance stated it had completed compensation and published a proof-of-reserves update, allowing public verification of assets covering customer deposits.
Affected users no longer need to wait for fund recovery through judicial proceedings. The DOJ clarified it seeks to seize the funds acquired by North Korea and return them, though the recovery process remains ongoing.
Face Stealer Campaign
Separately, the DOJ announced seizing cloud infrastructure for a North Korean hacking campaign dubbed "Face Stealer" by the FBI. This campaign stole over $400 million in cryptocurrencies during the past 18 months by deceiving victims into believing there were technical problems and pushing them to install malicious software.
The malicious software can remain dormant for months or even over a year before hackers take control of cryptocurrency wallets or access other systems. The hackers then use compromised contacts to target new victims, including open-source software developers, potentially launching attacks through the code they develop.
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