Hackers stole $100 million in latest crypto theft

Harmony, a California-based crypto firm, announced on Thursday night that hackers have stolen $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from one of its blockchain bridges.

The company said on Twitter that it has partnered up with law enforcement and forensic specialists to try to identify the hackers and retrieve the stolen funds.

“Harmony is working around the clock as we continue our investigation alongside the FBI and multiple cyber security firms,” the company tweeted. 

In a blog post, the company said its team has attempted to reach out to the hacker with an embedded message sent to the culprit’s crypto wallet address.

The theft is the latest crypto hack to occur in the last two months. 

In April, the FBI accused North Korean government-backed hackers of stealing about $620 million in cryptocurrency from the virtual game Axie Infinity.

The federal agency identified the hackers behind the theft as the Lazarus Group, which has been associated with the North Korean government. 

Since 2015, the Secret Service has reportedly seized more than $100 million in cryptocurrency in an effort to crack down on fraudulent digital currency transactions. 

David Smith, an official from the Secret Service, said in an April interview with CNBC that his agency has been tracking down the flow of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain to prevent and combat fraudulent activities. 

“When you follow a digital currency wallet, it’s no different than an email address that has some correlating identifiers,” Smith told the news outlet. 

Although agencies like the FBI and the Secret Service have taken steps to combat crypto theft and ransomware, a Senate report released in May found that the federal government lacks sufficient data on the use of cryptocurrency in ransom payments. 

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who released the report, said that “the federal government lacks the necessary information to deter and prevent these attacks.”

The report also revealed that current government reporting of ransomware attacks and cryptocurrency is “fragmented across multiple federal agencies.”

Harmony, which has yet to release the hacker’s identity, said that it will provide a complete breakdown of its findings once the investigation has concluded. 

“This incident is a humbling and unfortunate reminder of how our work is paramount to the future of this space, and how much of our work remains ahead of us,” the company said.