In response to the theft of 48.2 billion yen worth of Bitcoin from the crypto asset (virtual currency) exchange DMM Bitcoin, the Japanese National Police Agency reported on December 24 that the incident was committed by the North Korean-based cyber attack group TraderTraitor. South Korea announced that the facts of the crime have been confirmed.
Through a joint investigation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3), the agency identified the initiator of the theft of 4,502.9 BTC in May 2024.
TraderTraitor is believed to be affiliated with the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group, and the attack was carried out in multiple stages. The National Police Agency stated that it will continue to cooperate with the FBI, other US government agencies and international partners to investigate the illegal activities of North Korean hackers, including cybercrime and crypto asset theft. At the same time, the National Police Agency, the Cabinet Cybersecurity Center, and the Financial Services Agency issued documents on the means and countermeasures of the attack group, calling on crypto asset-related companies to be cautious.
In response to the leak, DMM Bitcoin decided to close its exchange. Assets and customer accounts will be transferred to SBIVC Trade, with the transition expected to be complete by March 2025. (CoinDesk Japan)