FBI Tuduh North Korean Hackers Lazarus Group And APT38, Garong Kripto Rp1.4 Trillion

The FBI has accused two hacking groups linked to North Korea, Lazarus Group and APT38. (photo: Twitter @FBI)

JAKARTA - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday, January 23, accused two groups of hackers linked to North Korea, Lazarus Group and APT38, of being responsible for the theft of US$100 million (Rp1.4 trillion) from the US crypto company Harmony's Horizon last June.

On January 13, the group used a privacy protocol called Railgun to wash Ethereum worth more than US$60 million (Rp 899.2 billion) stolen during the theft in June, "the FBI said in a statement.

According to the FBI, part of the stolen Ethereum was then sent to several virtual asset providers and converted into bitcoins.

The FBI said North Korea's theft and virtual currency laundering were used to support North Korea's ballistic missile and Mass Eradication Weapons program.

In June last year, California-based Harmony said a robbery had hit Horizon Bridge, which is a basic software used by digital tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether to transfer cryptocurrencies among various blockchains.

Reuters reported in June that North Korean hackers were most likely behind the attack on Harmony, citing three digital investigation companies.

Harmony is developing blockchains for decentralized finance - peer-to-peer sites that offer loans and other services without traditional gatekeepers such as banks - and non-exchangeable tokens or NFTs.