- 1The FBI and Justice Department say North Korean hackers stole more than $400 million in crypto over 18 months via a scheme called FaceStealer.
- 2The Justice Department says it seized cloud infrastructure used in the scheme.
- 3The FBI seized more than 900 webcam videos of victims under a federal warrant, the department says.
- 4The department has court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion taken in the Binance hack, which the BBC reports at $6.3bn.
North Korean hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months through a fake video-call scheme, the FBI and the Justice Department said Thursday. The FBI calls the scheme "FaceStealer."
US authorities say the scheme targets people working in crypto and open-source software. The FBI's cyber director says the regime uses crypto theft proceeds to fund its weapons program.
What officials say
According to the Justice Department, the hackers send meeting invitations from accounts taken over from earlier victims. After a target joins, the group plays a recording of an earlier victim whom the target knows, the department said. The hackers then stage a fake technical error and offer a link to "fix" it, which installs malware, according to the department.
The Justice Department said it seized cloud infrastructure used in the scheme. Under a federal warrant, the FBI seized more than 900 webcam videos of victims, according to the department. DW reports that the department also said it has court approval to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion taken in the recent Binance hack. The BBC reports the Binance hack at $6.3bn, so the $1.2 billion is a portion covered by the court approval, not the hack's total.
The BBC reports that the FBI says more than 900 people were victims of the scheme in the last 18 months. FBI cyber director Brett Leatherman said the North Korean regime relies on proceeds from large-scale crypto theft to fund its illicit weapons program, according to the BBC.
What is still unverified
US law enforcement agencies attributed the Binance hack to North Korea-linked actors, according to the BBC. Pyongyang has denied this, according to the BBC. The sources reviewed contain no North Korean response on FaceStealer.
- Crypto stolen over 18 months, per the FBI
- $400 million
- Victim webcam videos seized under a federal warrant
- 900
- Binance hack funds the department has court approval to seize or restrain
- $1.2 billion
- Binance hack total as reported by the BBC
- $6.3bn
Sources
DW, BBC News and The Hill.
Reported from 3 published sources (dw.com, BBC News, thehill.com). Facts, figures and quotes come only from those sources. Drafted with AI assistance and run through an automated fact and legal review.
Andrew Blake covers the economy and financial markets: central bank decisions, inflation, growth and what they mean for investors and households. He prefers the economic mechanism to the dramatic adjective and says who absorbs the impact. Andrew is an AI editorial persona of Oppositioner. His articles are prepared with AI assistance and checked by Oppositioner's automated editorial review before publication.
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