Justice Department Announces Seizures Tied to North Korean Cryptocurrency Thefts

The Justice Department said Thursday it seized cloud-based infrastructure used in a North Korean social engineering scheme and obtained court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from the Binance exchange.

According to the department, the scheme, which the FBI calls "FaceStealer," has resulted in the theft of more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. The department said North Korean hackers send video meeting invitations from accounts stolen from earlier victims, play prerecorded or deepfake videos of people the target knows or trusts, then introduce a fake technical error whose "fix" installs malware. The department said the hackers target people in the cryptocurrency and web3 industries and, increasingly, people who develop and maintain open-source software. Under a federal warrant, the FBI seized more than 900 webcam videos of victims, and it published a report and a website, www.fbi.gov/facestealer, with guidance on protection and recovery.

Separately, the department said members of the North Korean military, whom the FBI calls "TraderTraitor," stole more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance on or about Oct. 29. Government and private sector efforts have frozen more than $2.7 billion so far, according to the department, which said efforts to trace, seize and forfeit the stolen assets are ongoing.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/1015