Estonian Police Investigate Over $100 Million Cryptocurrency Theft from Atomic Wallet Users

Atomic Wallet by a group of hackers suspected of originating from North Korea. (photo: twitter @AtomicWallet)

JAKARTA - Estonian authorities are investigating the theft of cryptocurrency from users of the Atomic Wallet service in the country. This was conveyed by a police spokesperson on Wednesday, 14 June.

More than 100 million US dollars (IDR 1.4 trillion) in digital assets were stolen from thousands of users of cryptocurrency service Atomic Wallet by a group of suspected North Korean hackers known as "Lazarus," said cryptocurrency analytics firm Elliptic on Tuesday, 13 June.

A spokesperson for the Estonian National Criminal Police said in an email that authorities had been investigating the theft since last week, but did not provide further comment on the details of the case.

Kaarel Kallas said the investigation was in its early stages "and at this time we cannot comment on the origins of the attack."

The FBI, which has previously investigated attacks linked to Lazarus, declined to comment.

Atomic Wallet did not respond to messages seeking comment from Reuters. The service, which claims to be based in Tallinn, promises a higher level of security for users compared to regular cryptocurrency exchanges which have suffered from costly theft attacks in the past.

"The Atomic System is Perfectly Protected," reads the service's website.