FBI accuses North Korean government hackers of stealing $100M in Harmony bridge theft
The FBI has accused the North Korean government of being behind a $100 million theft from Bangladesh’s central bank.
The so-called “Harmony bridge” theft was carried out using the SWIFT international payments system, and saw funds stolen from the Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The North Korean government has long been accused of carrying out a series of cyber-attacks, and the FBI says this is just the latest in a string of “malicious activity” by the country’s hackers.
In a statement, the FBI said: “In late February 2016, hackers infiltrated Bangladesh Bank’s network and used its access to the SWIFT system to send 30 fraudulent messages over a four-day period, authorizing the transfers of over $951 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the New York Fed to various accounts around the world.”
“Of the $951 million in fraudulent transfers, $101 million was successfully stolen from Bangladesh Bank’s account and sent to accounts in the Philippines. The remainder of the funds were stopped by the New York Fed before they could be transferred out of Bangladesh Bank’s account.”
The FBI says it has “Lou” as a prime suspect in the case – a North Korean national who is believed to be part of a wider group of hackers working on behalf of the Pyongyang government.
“The FBI assesses that Lou and his co-conspirators work on behalf of the North Korean government and that this activity is consistent with North Korea’s design and intentions,” the agency said.
“The FBI strongly urges SWIFT and its community banks to enhance their defenses against Lazarus Group’s fraudulent activity, particularly the use of malware to compromise bank systems.”
The North Korean government has yet to comment on the accusations.
FBI accuses North Korean government hackers of stealing $100M in Harmony bridge theft
The FBI has accused North Korean government hackers of stealing $100 million from a cryptocurrency exchange.
In a press release on Tuesday, the FBI said that the hackers had stolen the money from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange known as Harmony Bridge.
The FBI believes that the North Korean government is behind a number of high-profile cyber attacks, including the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures and the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack.
The North Korean government has denied any involvement in cybercrime.
In the press release, the FBI also accused North Korean hackers of being behind the theft of $250,000 from a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange in April 2019.
- The FBI has accused North Korean government hackers of stealing $100 million from a cryptocurrency exchange.
- In a press release on Tuesday, the FBI said that the hackers had stolen the money from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange known as Harmony Bridge.
- The FBI believes that the North Korean government is behind a number of high-profile cyber attacks, including the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures and the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack.
- The North Korean government has denied any involvement in cybercrime.
- In the press release, the FBI also accused North Korean hackers of being behind the theft of $250,000 from a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange in April 2019.