U.S.A. officials say North Korean hackers have blamed North Korean hackers for the recent online hacking of popular online game Axie Infinity players.

A statement from US authorities on Thursday said that the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group was involved in a cyber attack on $ 615 million (၉ 469 million) worth of cryptocurrencies. Lazarus is also believed to be under the control of the North Korean intelligence bureau.

“Our investigation confirms that the Lazarus Group and APT38 (North Korean-linked cyber-attackers) were responsible for the crypto theft.” The FBI

The Lazarus Group is believed to have been responsible for the 2014 cyber-hacking of Sony Pictures and the leaking of confidential information, as well as the 2017 WannaCry Ramsomware, which carried out hundreds of thousands of computer cyber-attacks around the world.

In March, Axie Infintiy, a popular blockchain game, was hacked by hackers who hacked into the company’s Ronin Blockchain transaction path, stealing Ethereum 173600 and 25.5 million USDC Stable Coins. Aixe Infinity launches Ethereum and USDC Coins on the Ronin website to buy and sell NFT items.

Cyber ​​security researchers say North Korea is using crypto to evade US sanctions. Just last week, 39-year-old American crypto expert Vergil Graffis was sentenced to five years in prison for helping North Korea use virtual currency to evade US sanctions.

According to a 2020 US military report, North Korea’s cyber-attack plans began in the mid-1990s. တရုတ်၊ India In many countries, including Malaysia and Russia, it has grown into a cyber-operation force with up to 6,000 hackers under the name Bureau 121.

According to blockchain research firm Chainalysis, North Korean hackers carried out at least seven cyber-attacks on cryptocurrency platforms by 2021, stealing nearly $ 400 million worth of digital assets.