Lazarus arises!

The North Korean hacking group has been more than a little busy recently.

The North Korean hacking group has been more than a little busy recently.

In 2024, North Korea-linked groups stole $1.3B in crypto. Data from Chainalysis back in December 2024 showed the overall number of hacks globally increasing, even though 2023 and 2024 saw a lower amount stolen than the peak years of 2021-2022. But the $1.4B hack by the Lazarus group in February means 2025 isn't off to a great start.

Even as Lazarus continues to move its stolen funds, crypto investors continue to look for non-custodial wallets to safely store their crypto. Best Wallet provides top-flight security, making the Best Wallet Token presale perhaps the best crypto to buy now.

Lazarus Group Moves 400 $ETH, Launches New Malware

You’ve stolen 400K Ethereum from a major exchange. Great! Now what do you do with it?

Well, if you’re the shadowy group of North Korea-affiliated hackers known as Lazarus, you use some of it to buy Bitcoin on a DEX and move another 400 $ETH into Tornado Cash.

At least, that’s according to CertiK Alert, which has been following the group’s movements closely since they drained Bybit in February.

As we mentioned at the time, the task of laundering such vast sums of money will be no small feat for the hackers. But they’re making good progress, slowly shifting the stolen funds into less traceable avenues.

It seems that the task of tracking the stolen funds is becoming increasingly difficult as the hackers take precautions.

Once the funds come out the other side of Tornado’s tumblers, tracking them becomes nearly impossible.

However, despite the difficulties, CertiK is continuing to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as they develop.

In the meantime, though, North Korea isn't exactly known for giving up easily.

The group has been known to go to great lengths to achieve its objectives, and it's clear that they're not planning on slowing down anytime soon.

Crypto Founders Targeted in Elaborate Scams

The group has also been carrying out a series of elaborate scams against prominent crypto founders, attempting to drain their personal wallets.

The scams typically begin with a Zoom meeting request from someone claiming to be a VC interested in investing in the founder's project.

During the Zoom call, the scammer will complain about having audio difficulties and ask the founder to listen through a different device.

This request is usually made shortly before the meeting is due to end.

The scammer will then quickly switch to a different Zoom link, explaining that they need to quickly move the meeting due to a pressing matter.

At the same time, they will claim that their technical team has detected a security issue with the founder's device and urge them to install a patch to fix it.

This patch is actually malware that will grant the scammer access to the founder's crypto.

The scammer will become more insistent, explaining that the patch is urgent and that they can't continue the meeting until it's installed.

If the founder complies and installs the patch, the scammer will be able to gain access to their crypto.

However, two founders who were targeted by the scammers were able to see through the ruse and escape unscathed.

One of the founders, Giulio Xiloyannis, was targeted by scammers posing as VCs interested in investing in Vivid, a project that Xiloyannis founded.

The scammers told Xiloyannis that they were having audio difficulties and asked him to listen through a different device.

However, Xiloyannis's headphones weren't working properly, and he told the scammers that he could barely hear them.

This frustrated the scammers, who began to get flustered and act suspiciously.

One of the scammers mentioned that they had detected a security issue with Xiloyannis's device and that their technical team had prepared a patch to fix it. They sent Xiloyannis a Google Drive link to download the patch.

However, Xiloyannis grew suspicious and refused to install the patch. He told the scammers that he didn't have time for this and that they could contact him later.

Then he hung up the Zoom call and went to make himself dinner.

Another founder who was targeted by the Lazarus Group is David Zhang, the founder of Bitswap.

The scammers told Zhang that they were having technical difficulties and asked him to listen through a different device.

They also told him that they had detected a security issue with his device and that their technical team had prepared a patch to fix it.

However, Zhang was using an iPad, which wasn't compatible with the attacker’s software.

The Best Wallet Token

If even high-level crypto founders are being