FBI: North Korean Hackers Behind $ 40 Million Stake.com Heist

The FBI has confirmed that the cryptocurrency casino Stake.com was hacked by a North Korean cybercrime group that stole over $40 million from its users.

The Bureau said that the hackers belong to the Lazarus Group, also known as APT38, a notorious hacking group linked to the North Korean regime.

They moved the stolen funds using blockchain networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). They used 22 Bitcoin addresses for their transactions. Two crypto platforms, Arkham and CertiK, verified the details of the Bitcoin transactions.

This is not the first time the Lazarus Group has targeted crypto platforms and games. For example, they were behind the $620 million NFT (non-fungible token) theft from the game Axie Infinity by Sky Mavis. The FBI estimates that the hackers have stolen $2 billion worth of crypto since 2022. The stolen funds are believed to be used by the North Korean government for its illicit activities.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the Lazarus Group in 2019.