A new report reveals that the Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korean hacking collective, currently holds around $47 million worth of digital assets, with the majority being in Bitcoin. The data, collated on Dune Analytics from 21.co, shows that the group's wallets contain $42.5 million in Bitcoin, $1.9 million in Ether, $1.1 million in Binance Coin, and an additional $640,000 in stablecoins, primarily BUSD.
Drop in holdings since Stake.com hack
However, the group's crypto holdings appear to have decreased since the Stake.com hack, in which Lazarus was implicated. On September 6, just days after the hack, the group held a staggering $86 million in cryptocurrency. The Dune dashboard, which tracks 295 wallets identified by the FBI and OFAC as belonging to the hacking group, noted this significant drop.
No privacy coins held
Despite their illicit activities, the Lazarus Group surprisingly does not hold any privacy coins such as Monero, Dash, or Zcash, which are known for being much harder to trace.
Continued activity from Lazarus crypto wallets
The Lazarus Group's crypto wallets continue to be highly active, with the most recent transaction being recorded on September 20. 21.co, the parent company of 21Shares, also suggests that the group's holdings are likely to be even higher than what has been reported. "We should note that this is a lower-bound estimation of Lazarus Group's crypto holdings based on publicly available information," it stated.
Lazarus Group's history of cyber attacks
The Lazarus Group has a notorious track record of carrying out cyber attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges. They were behind the recent attack on CoinEx, resulting in a loss of at least $55 million. The FBI has also linked the group to the Alphapo, CoinsPaid, and Atomic Wallet hacks, which collectively accounted for over $200 million stolen in 2023.
Decrease in crypto thefts by North Korea-linked hackers
Despite the Lazarus Group's activities, a recent report by Chainalysis revealed that crypto thefts by North Korea-linked hackers have decreased by a staggering 80% since 2022. As of mid-September, these groups had stolen a total of $340.4 million in crypto, significantly down from the record of $1.65 billion in stolen digital assets in 2022.
Warning of potential attacks on the U.S. healthcare sector
United States federal authorities recently issued a warning of "significant risk" for potential attacks on U.S. healthcare and public health sector entities by the Lazarus Group.
