FBI claims North Korea stole more than $600m in cryptocurrency from video game company

Heist was meant to “generate revenue for the regime” in Pyongyang.

Published: April 16, 2022 4:43pm

Updated: April 16, 2022 4:45pm

Hackers working for the North Korean government stole well over half a billion dollars in cryptocurrency from a U.S. video gaming company, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said this week.

The FBI said in a statement that the hacking outfits Lazarus Group and APT38, who are “cyber actors associated with the DPRK,” were “responsible for the theft of $620 million in Ethereum reported on March 29.”

The heist, widely reported on late last month, was pulled off against Ronin Network, an NFT-based gaming platform. Ronin said at the time that nearly 175,000 ether tokens as well as other cryptocurrency were stolen.

The stolen money reportedly marks the second-biggest crypto hike in history.