US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Tuesday at Fordham University in New York that the US Department of Justice paid nearly $500,000 in ransoms from North Korean government-backed hackers and cryptocurrency Said he got it.
US officials believe the hackers either extorted the money from US-based healthcare organizations or used it to launder ransom payments.
US Department of Justice Seizes Large Amount of Cryptocurrency from Hackers Targeting Healthcare Institutions in the Country
Monaco said North Korean hackers targeted healthcare facilities in Kansas and Colorado last year and encrypted computer systems that were running critical equipment. The events came to the attention of US officials when an unnamed healthcare facility in Kansas reported it to the FBI.
According to Monaco, the Kansas complaint helped the FBI identify a new strain of ransomware used by North Koreans, enabling the bureau to seize ransom payments and cryptocurrencies from China-based money launderers hired by North Koreans.
Monaco has urged other US organizations and companies to report similar incidents to the FBI.
According to Monaco, the FBI, the Secret Service, and the Treasury Department’s actions against cybercrime groups bitcoin and his investments in tracking crypto payments helped with the seizures.
Earlier this year, the FBI created a new task force of cryptocurrency experts focused on blockchain analysis and digital currency foreclosures.
In March, the US government attributed the theft of $625 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the Ronin bridge linked to the popular play-to-win game Axie Infinity to the North Korean state-backed hacker group Lazarus Group.