Want to make $10 million?
sure!
Well, today might be your lucky day. Because the U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps disrupt the hacker activities.
What the authorities are looking for isn’t information on any old hacker (although I’m sure law enforcement would be interested in any information you might share that could help catch cybercriminals).
Specifically, the $10 million reward targets hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government who used cryptocurrency mixers to launder cryptocurrencies they stole from financial institutions and businesses.
in a tweetThe U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program explains that the North Korean regime launders stolen cryptocurrency to support its ballistic missile program and nuclear ambitions.
The $10 reward was announced just days after the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against cryptocurrency mixing service Sinbad
Used by the notorious Lazarus Group, which is affiliated with North Korea.
According to U.S. authorities, $100 million worth of virtual currency was stolen from Atomic Wallet users in June 2023, $620 million in virtual currency was stolen from Aixie Finity in March 2022, and Horizon Bridge was hacked. A large portion of the US$100 million in virtual currency stolen was used by Sinbad to launder money. June 2022.
In short, these stolen funds are not insignificant. In fact, typical ransomware extortion efforts pale in comparison. Clearly, North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are not cheap.
Sinbad’s public-facing website, sinbad.io, has been seized by law enforcement agencies and replaced with the following message:
according to Computer beepsSinbad’s Tor website is also inaccessible – suggesting that its servers may also have been seized by law enforcement.
One thing that remains accessible is the U.S. State Department’s whistleblower hotline, which invites people with information to submit information to the Rewards for Justice program (and potentially earn themselves up to $10 million).
You can access the Justice Rewards Hotline via Tor: he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onionor if you prefer, use an encrypted messaging system such as Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
Good luck.
