US seizes $500,000 in cryptocurrencies from North Korean hackers

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The US Department of Justice announced the confiscation of about $500,000 in cryptocurrencies from North Korean hackers, which were obtained through ransomware attacks.

According to the deputy generalUS Attorney Lisa Monaco, confiscated funds have already begun to flow into the accounts of affected citizens and companies in the states of Kansas and Colorado. 

The attacks on the computer systems of the victims were carried out last year and, according to the results of the FBI investigation, traces of the crime were traced to North Korean hackers.

Interestingly, the funds themselves were confiscatedfrom the accounts of Chinese money launderers. The operation included employees from the FBI, the US Secret Service and the Treasury Department. They managed to track cryptocurrency payments and gain access to wallets.

Lisa Monaco also called on companiesvictims of ransomware attacks, report these incidents to law enforcement agencies. She emphasized that it is quite possible to return the funds, although this is becoming increasingly difficult.

In April of this year, the United States Secret Service (USSS) Investigations Division reported that the service had seized more than $102 million in digital assets from criminals since 2015.