Poloniex Hacker Transfers Money to Tornado Cash for the First Time

A hacker involved in last year’s massive hack of Poloniex crypto exchange has reportedly transferred 1,100 Ethereum (ETH), valued at approximately $3.4 million, to the U.S.-sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash in an attempt to launder the stolen funds.

The movement of funds came to light following the on-chain data analysis conducted by security firm PeckShield. Notably, WuBlockchain also broke the news, confirming that this is the first time the hacker has transferred the funds to Tornado Cash to launder the money.

Poloniex, a major cryptocurrency exchange, fell victim to a substantial hack in November last year, resulting in the loss of $100 million from one of its hot wallets. Mixing services like Tornado Cash are often utilized by cybercriminals to obscure the trail of stolen cryptocurrency, making it harder for law enforcement agencies to track illicit transactions.

This attack on Poloniex is widely attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group, a notorious state-sponsored hacking organization known for its involvement in various high-profile cyberattacks.

In an unusual move, Poloniex offered the hacker a 5% bounty, amounting to around $5 million, to return the remaining 95% of the stolen funds. However, this attempt to negotiate with the hacker appears to have been unsuccessful, as evidenced by the recent transfer of ETH to Tornado Cash.

Poloniex has been a centralized exchange since its inception in 2014 and was later acquired by Tron founder Justin Sun in 2019. Notably, the hack dealt a significant blow to the exchange’s reputation and security measures.

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