US moves to disrupt North Korean crypto theft, seize $1.2B in Binance funds



News US moves to disrupt North Korean crypto theft, seize $1.2B in Binance funds Coordinated action by Justice Department and FBI comes as DPRK increasingly relies on cybercrime to fund weapons program Shreyas Reddy November 13, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON U.S. dollars \| Image: John Guccione via Pexels (Jan. 6, 2020) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced coordinated actions on Thursday to disrupt North Korea’s record-breaking virtual currency theft, including obtaining court authorization to seize over $1.2 billion stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The actions target two separate operations attributed to North Korean state-sponsored cybercriminals: a social engineering campaign dubbed “FaceStealer” and the theft of approximately $6.36 billion in virtual assets from Binance in late October, the DOJ said in a press release Thursday. As part of the FaceStealer operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the disruption of cloud-based infrastructure used by North Korean © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Have follow-up questions? Ask NK PRO's Intelligence Suite to learn more. Which North Korean cyber groups have carried out major cryptocurrency thefts, and what tactics and infrastructure do they commonly use? This question is generated by AI and could contain mistakes. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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US moves to disrupt North Korean crypto theft, seize $1.2B in Binance funds

Coordinated action by Justice Department and FBI comes as DPRK increasingly relies on cybercrime to fund weapons program

Shreyas Reddy November 13, 2026

US moves to disrupt North Korean crypto theft, seize $1.2B in Binance funds

U.S. dollars | Image: John Guccione via Pexels (Jan. 6, 2020)

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced coordinated actions on Thursday to disrupt North Korea’s record-breaking virtual currency theft, including obtaining court authorization to seize over $1.2 billion stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

The actions target two separate operations attributed to North Korean state-sponsored cybercriminals: a social engineering campaign dubbed “FaceStealer” and the theft of approximately $6.36 billion in virtual assets from Binance in late October, the DOJ said in a press release Thursday.

As part of the FaceStealer operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the disruption of cloud-based infrastructure used by North Korean

US moves to disrupt North Korean crypto theft, seize $1.2B in Binance funds

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