North Korean Hackers Launder $147 Million Stolen from HTX via Tornado Cash

In March, North Korean hackers employed the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash to launder $147.5 million stolen from the HTX exchange in 2023. This was reported by Reuters, citing UN sanctions monitors. 

The asset movements were tracked by analysts from PeckShield and Elliptic.

In total, UN observers investigated 97 cyberattacks by North Korean hackers on cryptocurrency companies from 2017 to 2024, causing damages of approximately $3.6 billion.

In 2024 alone, there were 11 incidents of digital asset theft amounting to $54.7 million. Most of these were carried out by “North Korean IT specialists inadvertently hired by small cryptocurrency companies.”

According to a previously published UN Security Council report, about half of North Korea’s foreign currency income is derived from cyberattacks, including those on the crypto industry. Their estimates indicate that from 2017 to 2023, hackers inflicted cumulative damages equivalent to $3 billion.

Back in November 2023, an attack on the hot wallet of the HTX exchange and the cross-chain bridge Heco Bridge netted the perpetrators $110 million.

Earlier, in September, HTX lost 5000 ETH ($7.9 million at the time). Approximately two weeks later, the hacker returned the stolen assets for a reward of 250 ETH.