FBI Seizes $500K in Fiat and Crypto from Hackers

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has seized and returned about $500,000 in fiat and crypto from a hacking group linked to the North Korean government, which includes two crypto payments made by US healthcare providers.

In an announcement Tuesday, the Justice Department said with the FBI that it had investigated a $100,000 ransomware payment in Bitcoin (BTC) from a Kansas Hospital to a North Korean hacking group to regain access to its systems, as well as $120,000 BTC payments from medical providers in North Korea.

Colorado to one of the wallets linked to the attack as mentioned above. In May, the FBI filed a seizure warrant for funds from two other ransom, and other money laundering attacks through China, which the Justice Department reported was worth about $500,000,

US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech to the International Conference on Cybersecurity on Tuesday that authorities rely on victims from the private sector to report ransomware and other attacks “as soon as the crime occurs.”

“If you report the attack, if you report the ransom and payment request, if you cooperate with the FBI, we can take action; we can track the money and get it back; we can help prevent the next attack, the next victim; and we can hold cybercriminals accountable. The companies we work with will see that we stand with them after an incident.”

Hacker groups linked to North Korea and Russia are reportedly responsible for many large ransomware and cyber attacks in the United States and globally.