US officials have announced they offer a reward of up to $5 million for information about North Korean hackers and their operations, which are eventually used to fund the country’s weapons programs.
As part of the special Rewards for Justice program, the authorities say the following:
By the way, North Korean hackers stole $400 million in cryptocurrency in 2021 alone.
Authorities separately mentioned desire to obtain “information about those who seek to undermine cybersecurity, including financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges around the world” in the interests of Pyongyang. The US will also pay for information on anyone who “knowingly engages in activities that undermine cybersecurity through the use of computer networks or systems against foreign individuals, governments, or other entities” for the benefit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Interestingly, the announcement of the massive rewards came shortly after the FBI held North Korea responsible for one of the biggest cryptocurrency robberies in history: the theft of more than $600 million in crypto that occurred last month after the compromise of the Ronin blockchain and the popular game Axie Infinity’s.
The Treasury Department, in turn, supported the FBI’s findings and announced new sanctions against Lazarus. Let me remind you that this is not the first time that the United States has imposed sanctions against this group.
