ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the South Korean government has imposed sanctions on 15 North Korean individuals and one entity for their involvement in illegal cyber activities, including cryptocurrency theft. According to Chainalysis data, North Korean hackers stole $1.34 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2024, accounting for 61% of the total stolen that year.The sanctioned individuals are all members of the 313 Bureau under the Ministry of Machine Industry of the Workers' Party of Korea, which has been under United Nations Security Council sanctions since 2016 and is responsible for North Korea's weapons production, including ballistic missile programs. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that North Korean IT personnel often disguise their identities and travel to countries such as China, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa to obtain work orders from global IT companies while also engaging in information theft and cyberattacks.

ChainCatcher news, a report released by Chainalysis shows that in 2024, the amount of cryptocurrency thefts exceeded $2.2 billion, with an increase in hacking incidents. This marks the fifth consecutive year that the stolen amount has surpassed $1 billion.

ChainCatcher message, Slow Mist's Chief Information Security Officer 23pds posted a reminder that recently, the well-known cryptocurrency theft Trojan MacOS Stealer has been suddenly open-sourced.Previously, its attack source code was sold for 1 BTC, and now the open-sourcing means that more malicious attackers can easily access this tool. This not only potentially allows attackers to have "one tool per person" for attacks but may also give rise to more covert and complex attack methods, posing greater challenges to the security of cryptocurrency assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to 8world, the Singapore Police Force and the Cyber Security Agency issued a joint statement indicating that recently, criminals have been observed using various methods to steal cryptocurrency from victims' wallets. Their common tactics include:Impersonating legitimate entities on social media, using giveaways or promotional activities as bait, and asking victims to "verify" their wallets by sharing login credentials and other personal information.Criminals may also impersonate the owners of cryptocurrency companies, sending malicious links under the pretext of assessing the victims' capabilities in the blockchain field. Once clicked, these links automatically transfer cryptocurrency from the victims' wallets.Additionally, criminals may exploit phishing websites, software vulnerabilities, smart contracts, etc., to invade victims' wallets and steal cryptocurrency.Singapore government agencies urge the public to take preventive measures to protect their wallets, such as: using hardware wallets and other secure offline storage devices; employing strong passwords and two-factor authentication; and regularly checking accounts.If you suspect that you have become a victim, you should immediately contact the cryptocurrency exchange to stop trading or freeze your account if possible; check and revoke any suspicious token authorizations; promptly transfer any remaining cryptocurrency from the affected wallet to another wallet; and report to the relevant authorities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, U.S. prosecutors have recommended to the judge that Ilya Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, should be sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in a money laundering scheme related to the $6 billion hack of the Bitfinex exchange in 2016. According to court documents revealed by the government on Tuesday, Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year, should serve more time than his rapper wife and accomplice Heather Morgan.Last week, prosecutors indicated that Morgan, the rapper who calls herself the "Wall Street Crocodile," should be sentenced to 18 months in prison. Prosecutors stated that Lichtenstein fits the profile of young cybercriminals whose online activities "have become somewhat normalized, thereby diminishing the impact on victims." Government lawyers told a federal judge in Washington, "A harsh sentence in this case will help break this cycle."Prosecutors did not seek the maximum sentence for Lichtenstein but considered his cooperation in other criminal cases. Earlier this year, he testified in the government's prosecution of the Bitcoin Fog mixing service money laundering case. Sentencing is scheduled for November.

ChainCatcher news, on-chain detective ZachXBT posted on platform X, revealing a significant cryptocurrency asset theft case targeting Genesis creditors.On August 19, 2024, three hackers stole $243 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from a Genesis creditor through a highly sophisticated social engineering attack. According to ZachXBT's investigation, the attackers first impersonated Google customer service, deceiving the victim over the phone and successfully breaching their personal account. Subsequently, they posed as support staff from the Gemini exchange, claiming the account had been hacked, and tricked the victim into resetting two-factor authentication and transferring funds from their Gemini account to a controlled wallet. Finally, the hackers lured the victim into using AnyDesk remote desktop software to share their screen, thereby stealing the private keys to the Bitcoin Core wallet.ZachXBT confirmed three main suspects: Veer Chetal (alias Wiz), Malone Iam (alias Greavys), and Jeandiel Serrano (alias Box). Among them, Veer received the largest share of the loot, approximately $34.5 million. Malone lived a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles and Miami, spending between $250,000 and $500,000 daily, even gifting women Hermes handbags. Jeandiel was responsible for impersonating Gemini customer service to carry out the fraud.Currently, over $9 million in funds have been successfully frozen, with more than $500,000 returned to the victims. Malone and Jeandiel have been arrested in Miami and Los Angeles, respectively. Law enforcement expects to seize more funds during the arrests, as a significant amount of fund transfers were observed before and after the arrests.

ChainCatcher news, according to PeckShield monitoring, three phishing addresses have stolen approximately $3.4 million worth of cryptocurrency from addresses starting with 0xc108 on Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum.It is reported that the three phishing addresses are Fake_Phishing187019, Fake_Phishing188246, and Fake_Phishing188615.

According to ChainCatcher news, three Democratic senators urged the Biden administration to disclose more information detailing its actions in response to North Korea's use of stolen cryptocurrency to fund its nuclear program, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. They stated that North Korea's increasing reliance on digital assets to evade sanctions poses a serious national security threat.

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, the United States and South Korea held a working group meeting this week regarding North Korean cyber threats. The meeting statement said that the United States and South Korea are taking extensive actions to address North Korea's malicious cyber activities, including the theft of virtual currency.ChainCatcher previously reported that Slow Mist tweeted that the attackers of CoinsPaid, Atomic, and Alphapo may all be North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.

ChainCatcher news, Slow Mist's Chief Information Security Officer 23pds tweeted that a new cryptocurrency theft software called Mystic Stealer has emerged, capable of attacking 40 browsers, 70 browser extensions, and cryptocurrency wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Binance, Rabby Wallet, OKX Wallet, OneKey, and other well-known wallets. It is currently the most popular malware, so be aware of the risks. Additionally, "it is primarily promoted in Russian, typical of Eastern European hacker groups." (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by The Paper, the Ningbo Jiangbei District Prosecutor's Office recently prosecuted Ningbo's first large-scale cryptocurrency theft case. After court hearings, 7 defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 years to 4 years and 10 months for theft.It was reported that from June to December 2021, the defendants, including Su, published websites embedded with Trojan software online to lure others into downloading them. Once someone clicked to download, their computer was invaded and remotely controlled. Su and others could then manipulate the victim's computer to steal virtual currency from their accounts. At the same time, they impersonated the victims to provide their friends with accounts to receive virtual currency. According to the prosecutor's office, the defendants cashed out a total of 28 million yuan in virtual currency. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, TokenPocket CBO Michael tweeted, "Discovered a new type of coin theft method. In KTVs abroad, scam gangs quietly modified the shared power banks and implanted malicious programs. Guests sing and drink in the KTV for half a day, and their phones easily run out of battery, so they borrow a power bank. As a result, you think the power bank is charging your phone, but it's actually reading data from your phone and stealing the private keys from your wallet." (Source link)