North Korea's Binance hack faces U.S. crackdown as DOJ targets $1.2 billion in stolen crypto

The authorized seizure is part of a broader effort by U.S. authorities and private companies that has frozen more than $2.7 billion of the more than $6 billion stolen from Binance on Oct. 29. The FBI attributed that attack to a North Korean military-linked hacking operation known as 'TraderTraitor.'

Investigators are continuing to trace stolen cryptocurrency moving through blockchain bridges, mixers and exchanges, seeking to freeze and recover more of the funds, the DOJ said.

“North Korea’s government bankrolls its rogue regime and illicit weapons program through cryptocurrency theft,” said M. Scott Proctor, principal deputy assistant attorney general for national security at the DOJ, in a statement. “Today’s announcement shows that America will fight back against that corrupt regime’s effort to profit through cybercrime. The National Security Division will use every tool at its disposal to seize and return North Korea’s ill-gotten gains.”