Sinbad crypto mixer used by North Korean Lazarus Group seized by US government

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Cryptomixer seized in international effort to sanction Lazarus Group.

Sinbad Site
The message now displayed on the Sinbad.io site. (Image credit: US Gov FBI)

The Sinbad cryptocurrency mixing service has been sanctioned by the US government in an effort to restrict the money laundering abilities of the North Korean Lazarus group.

The Lazarus group, a cybercriminal enterprise sponsored by the North Korean regime, is responsible for a number of malicious cyber attacks, including the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack, and the 2022 Horizon Bridge attack that saw $100 million stolen.

Cryptocurrency mixers are used for money laundering by cyber criminals, and allow people to ‘mix’ their deposited cryptocurrency between a number of virtual wallets in order to obscure its source.

 Lazarus funds DPRK weapons of mass destruction 

According to a press statement released by the US Department of the Treasury, “Due to the pressure of robust U.S. and United Nations sanctions, the DPRK has resorted to using illicit tactics, such as heists perpetrated by the Lazarus Group, to generate revenue for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

Crypto mixing sites like Sinbad generate revenue by taking commission on deposited cryptocurrencies, and are “used by cybercriminals to obfuscate transactions linked to malign activities such as sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, the purchase of child sexual abuse materials, and additional illicit sales on darknet marketplaces."

According to the US Treasury Department, funds seized by Lazarus in a number of recent high-profile attacks were ‘mixed’ using the Sinbad service. This is not the first crypto mixing site to be targeted by similar sanctions, with the Blender.io site previously used by the Lazarus group being similarly seized by the US treasury in 2022.

The Sinbad site now displays a message that states, “"This service has been seized as part of a coordinated law-enforcement action between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD), and the National Bureau of Investigation taken against the Sinbad.io cryptocurrency mixing service."

Via BleepingComputer

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Benedict Collins
Benedict Collins
Staff Writer (Security)

Benedict has been writing about security issues for close to 5 years, at first covering geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division). Benedict then continued his studies at a postgraduate level and achieved a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Benedict transitioned his security interests towards cybersecurity upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, focussing on state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.