{
	"id": "5471687b-c6a0-42f6-a75e-a3b1d0ee6585",
	"created_at": "2026-04-06T00:09:28.941812Z",
	"updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:38:20.256103Z",
	"deleted_at": null,
	"sha1_hash": "46d3e68f9d788204650f4f443760763b139869f6",
	"title": "North Korean hackers return to Tornado Cash despite sanctions",
	"llm_title": "",
	"authors": "",
	"file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
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	"plain_text": "North Korean hackers return to Tornado Cash despite sanctions\r\nBy Elliptic Research\r\nArchived: 2026-04-05 17:09:42 UTC\r\n$112.5 million was stolen from exchange HTX and its HECO cross-chain bridge in November 2023 -\r\nElliptic has attributed this hack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group\r\nSince March 13 2024, over $100 million from this hack has been laundered through Tornado Cash\r\nLazarus turned to Sinbad.io as its mixer of choice following sanctions on Tornado Cash in August\r\n2022, but this service was seized by US authorities in November 2023\r\nIn November 2023, $112.5 million in cryptocurrency was stolen from crypto exchange HTX and its cross-chain\r\nbridge, known as HECO Bridge. Elliptic and others have attributed this theft to North Korea’s Lazarus group,\r\nbased on various attributes of the hack and the subsequent movement of funds.\r\nFollowing common crypto-laundering patterns, the stolen tokens were immediately swapped for ETH, using\r\ndecentralized exchanges. The stolen funds then lay dormant until March 13 2024, when the stolen cryptoassets\r\nbegan to be sent through Tornado Cash.\r\nTornado cash is a decentralized, smart contract-based mixer. It was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in August\r\n2022, for its role in laundering $455 million from Lazarus Group crypto hacks. In response, Lazarus Group\r\nstopped using Tornado Cash, relying instead on using cross-chain bridges and the Bitcoin based mixer, Sinbad.io.\r\nBut in November 2023 Sinbad.io was itself seized by U.S. authorities, eliminating another mixing option.\r\nHowever, Tornado Cash continues to operate despite sanctions. The mixer operates through smart contracts\r\nrunning on decentralized blockchains, so it cannot be seized and shut down in the same way that centralized\r\nmixers such as Sinbad.io have been.\r\nhttps://www.elliptic.co/blog/north-korean-hackers-return-to-tornado-cash-despite-sanctions\r\nPage 1 of 2\n\nA screenshot from Elliptic Investigator, showing the primary flow of funds from the HTX/HECO Bridge hacker\r\nwallet to Tornado Cash, as of March 15, 2024. (Not all transaction flows are displayed)\r\nLazarus Group now appear to have returned to using Tornado Cash as a way to launder funds at scale and\r\nobfuscate their transaction trail.\r\nSince March 13 2024, more than $100 million in ETH from the HTX/HECO thefts has been laundered through\r\nTornado Cash,.\r\nThis change in behavior and return to the use of Tornado Cash likely reflects the limited number of large-scale\r\nmixers now operating, thanks to law enforcement takedowns of services such as Sinbad.io and Blender.io.\r\nCrypto exchanges and other financial institutions should use tools such as Elliptic’s crypto transaction and wallet\r\nscreening solutions to ensure that they do not engage in transactions with sanctioned actors such as Tornado Cash\r\nand Lazarus Group. Contact us to learn more.\r\nThis article has been updated to reflect the latest movements of funds into Tornado Cash and to correct the\r\namount stolen from HTX and HECO Bridge.\r\nSource: https://www.elliptic.co/blog/north-korean-hackers-return-to-tornado-cash-despite-sanctions\r\nhttps://www.elliptic.co/blog/north-korean-hackers-return-to-tornado-cash-despite-sanctions\r\nPage 2 of 2",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"ETDA"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/north-korean-hackers-return-to-tornado-cash-despite-sanctions"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"north-korean-hackers-return-to-tornado-cash-despite-sanctions"
	],
	"threat_actors": [
		{
			"id": "34eea331-d052-4096-ae03-a22f1d090bd4",
			"created_at": "2025-08-07T02:03:25.073494Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.709243Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "NICKEL ACADEMY",
			"aliases": [
				"ATK3 ",
				"Black Artemis ",
				"COVELLITE ",
				"CTG-2460 ",
				"Citrine Sleet ",
				"Diamond Sleet ",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"HIDDEN COBRA ",
				"High Anonymous",
				"Labyrinth Chollima ",
				"Lazarus Group ",
				"NNPT Group",
				"New Romanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Temp.Hermit ",
				"UNC577 ",
				"Who Am I?",
				"Whois Team",
				"ZINC "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:NICKEL ACADEMY",
			"tools": [
				"Destover",
				"KorHigh",
				"Volgmer"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "732597b1-40a8-474c-88cc-eb8a421c29f1",
			"created_at": "2025-08-07T02:03:25.087732Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.776007Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "NICKEL GLADSTONE",
			"aliases": [
				"APT38 ",
				"ATK 117 ",
				"Alluring Pisces ",
				"Black Alicanto ",
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				"CTG-6459 ",
				"Citrine Sleet ",
				"HIDDEN COBRA ",
				"Lazarus Group",
				"Sapphire Sleet ",
				"Selective Pisces ",
				"Stardust Chollima ",
				"T-APT-15 ",
				"TA444 ",
				"TAG-71 "
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			"source_name": "Secureworks:NICKEL GLADSTONE",
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				"SUGARLOADER",
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			"source_id": "Secureworks",
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			"created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:38.430595Z",
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			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
				"Operation DarkSeoul",
				"Bureau 121",
				"Group 77",
				"APT38",
				"NICKEL GLADSTONE",
				"G0082",
				"COPERNICIUM",
				"Moonstone Sleet",
				"Operation GhostSecret",
				"APT 38",
				"Appleworm",
				"Unit 121",
				"ATK3",
				"G0032",
				"ATK117",
				"NewRomanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Nickel Academy",
				"Sapphire Sleet",
				"Lazarus group",
				"Hastati Group",
				"Subgroup: Bluenoroff",
				"Operation Troy",
				"Black Artemis",
				"Dark Seoul",
				"Andariel",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"Operation AppleJeus",
				"COVELLITE",
				"Citrine Sleet",
				"DEV-0139",
				"DEV-1222",
				"Hidden Cobra",
				"Bluenoroff",
				"Stardust Chollima",
				"Whois Hacking Team",
				"Diamond Sleet",
				"TA404",
				"BeagleBoyz",
				"APT-C-26"
			],
			"source_name": "MISPGALAXY:Lazarus Group",
			"tools": [],
			"source_id": "MISPGALAXY",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "32a223a8-3c79-4146-87c5-8557d38662ae",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T15:50:23.703698Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:05.261989Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
				"Lazarus Group",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"HIDDEN COBRA",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"NICKEL ACADEMY",
				"Diamond Sleet"
			],
			"source_name": "MITRE:Lazarus Group",
			"tools": [
				"RawDisk",
				"Proxysvc",
				"BADCALL",
				"FALLCHILL",
				"WannaCry",
				"MagicRAT",
				"HOPLIGHT",
				"TYPEFRAME",
				"Dtrack",
				"HotCroissant",
				"HARDRAIN",
				"Dacls",
				"KEYMARBLE",
				"TAINTEDSCRIBE",
				"AuditCred",
				"netsh",
				"ECCENTRICBANDWAGON",
				"AppleJeus",
				"BLINDINGCAN",
				"ThreatNeedle",
				"Volgmer",
				"Cryptoistic",
				"RATANKBA",
				"Bankshot"
			],
			"source_id": "MITRE",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "f32df445-9fb4-4234-99e0-3561f6498e4e",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T16:07:23.756373Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:04.739611Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "Lazarus Group",
			"aliases": [
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				"ATK 3",
				"Appleworm",
				"Citrine Sleet",
				"DEV-0139",
				"Diamond Sleet",
				"G0032",
				"Gleaming Pisces",
				"Gods Apostles",
				"Gods Disciples",
				"Group 77",
				"Guardians of Peace",
				"Hastati Group",
				"Hidden Cobra",
				"ITG03",
				"Jade Sleet",
				"Labyrinth Chollima",
				"Lazarus Group",
				"NewRomanic Cyber Army Team",
				"Operation 99",
				"Operation AppleJeus",
				"Operation AppleJeus sequel",
				"Operation Blockbuster: Breach of Sony Pictures Entertainment",
				"Operation CryptoCore",
				"Operation Dream Job",
				"Operation Dream Magic",
				"Operation Flame",
				"Operation GhostSecret",
				"Operation In(ter)caption",
				"Operation LolZarus",
				"Operation Marstech Mayhem",
				"Operation No Pineapple!",
				"Operation North Star",
				"Operation Phantom Circuit",
				"Operation Sharpshooter",
				"Operation SyncHole",
				"Operation Ten Days of Rain / DarkSeoul",
				"Operation Troy",
				"SectorA01",
				"Slow Pisces",
				"TA404",
				"TraderTraitor",
				"UNC2970",
				"UNC4034",
				"UNC4736",
				"UNC4899",
				"UNC577",
				"Whois Hacking Team"
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			"source_name": "ETDA:Lazarus Group",
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				"3Rat Client",
				"3proxy",
				"AIRDRY",
				"ARTFULPIE",
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				"AlphaNC",
				"Alreay",
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				"AngryRebel",
				"AppleJeus",
				"Aryan",
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				"BADCALL",
				"BISTROMATH",
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				"BTC Changer",
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				"Bankshot",
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				"DLRAT",
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				"Dembr",
				"Destover",
				"DoublePulsar",
				"Dozer",
				"Dtrack",
				"Duuzer",
				"DyePack",
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				"ELECTRICFISH",
				"Escad",
				"EternalBlue",
				"FALLCHILL",
				"FYNLOS",
				"FallChill RAT",
				"Farfli",
				"Fimlis",
				"FoggyBrass",
				"FudModule",
				"Fynloski",
				"Gh0st RAT",
				"Ghost RAT",
				"Gopuram",
				"HARDRAIN",
				"HIDDEN COBRA RAT/Worm",
				"HLOADER",
				"HOOKSHOT",
				"HOPLIGHT",
				"HOTCROISSANT",
				"HOTWAX",
				"HTTP Troy",
				"Hawup",
				"Hawup RAT",
				"Hermes",
				"HotCroissant",
				"HotelAlfa",
				"Hotwax",
				"HtDnDownLoader",
				"Http Dr0pper",
				"ICONICSTEALER",
				"Joanap",
				"Jokra",
				"KANDYKORN",
				"KEYMARBLE",
				"Kaos",
				"KillDisk",
				"KillMBR",
				"Koredos",
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				"LIGHTSHIFT",
				"LIGHTSHOW",
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				"LightlessCan",
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				"PowerRatankba",
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				"PowerSpritz",
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				"Preft",
				"ProcDump",
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				"PuTTY Link",
				"QUICKRIDE",
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				"RomeoFoxtrot",
				"RomeoGolf",
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				"RomeoNovember",
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				"Romeos",
				"RustBucket",
				"SHADYCAT",
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				"SIMPLESEA",
				"SLICKSHOES",
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				"SUDDENICON",
				"SUGARLOADER",
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				"SierraAlfa",
				"SierraBravo",
				"SierraCharlie",
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				"SierraJuliett-MikeTwo",
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				"SimplexTea",
				"SmallTiger",
				"Stunnel",
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				"TFlower",
				"TOUCHKEY",
				"TOUCHMOVE",
				"TOUCHSHIFT",
				"TOUCHSHOT",
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				"TYPEFRAME",
				"Tdrop",
				"Tdrop2",
				"ThreatNeedle",
				"Tiger RAT",
				"TigerRAT",
				"Trojan Manuscript",
				"Troy",
				"TroyRAT",
				"VEILEDSIGNAL",
				"VHD",
				"VHD Ransomware",
				"VIVACIOUSGIFT",
				"VSingle",
				"ValeforBeta",
				"Volgmer",
				"Vyveva",
				"W1_RAT",
				"Wana Decrypt0r",
				"WanaCry",
				"WanaCrypt",
				"WanaCrypt0r",
				"WannaCry",
				"WannaCrypt",
				"WannaCryptor",
				"WbBot",
				"Wcry",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBB",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBC",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBD",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBH",
				"Win32/KillDisk.NBI",
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				"Winsec",
				"WolfRAT",
				"Wormhole",
				"YamaBot",
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				"http_troy",
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