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FBI alerts crypto firms over hackers’ plot to cash out $40 million

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9 months ago

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The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it has uncovered plans by hackers to cash out over $40 million in stolen funds through six Bitcoin addresses.

The FBI in an advisory warned crypto companies to be vigilant in guarding against transactions directly with, or derived from the addresses. It identified the hackers as those affiliated with the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group, also known as APT38 and “TraderTraitor.”

The FBI said that over the past 24 hours, it had tracked approximately 1,580 Bitcoin, worth more than $40 million, that the North Korean hackers are currently holding in six separate crypto wallets. It added that these funds were stolen during “several” cryptocurrency heists.

The Bureau in the advisory issued on Tuesday said:

  • “The FBI is warning cryptocurrency companies of recent blockchain activity connected to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Over the last 24 hours, the FBI tracked cryptocurrency stolen by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) TraderTraitor-affiliated actors (also known as Lazarus Group and APT38). The FBI believes the DPRK may attempt to cash out the bitcoin worth more than 40 million dollars.
  • “The DPRK TraderTraitor-affiliated actors were responsible for several high-profile international cryptocurrency heists including the $60 million theft of virtual currency from Alphapo on June 22, 2023; the $37 million theft of virtual currency from CoinsPaid on June 22, 2023; and the $100 million theft of virtual currency from Atomic Wallet on June 2, 2023.
  • “The FBI previously provided information on their attacks against Harmony’s Horizon bridge and Sky Mavis’ Ronin Bridge and provided a Cybersecurity Advisory on TraderTraitor.”

It urged all private sector entities to examine the blockchain data associated with the addresses of the hackers provided and be vigilant in guarding against transactions directly with the addresses.

  • “The FBI will continue to expose and combat the DPRK’s use of illicit activities—including cybercrime and virtual currency theft—to generate revenue for the regime,” it added.

According to a recent report from blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, North Korean hackers have stolen almost $2 billion in cryptocurrency since 2018 over more than 30 attacks, including almost $1 billion in 2022 alone. Lazarus Group has stolen approximately $200 million in 2023 so far, according to the report, accounting for over 20% of all stolen crypto this year.

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FAAN begins sale of e-tags at airports

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1 hour ago

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May 17, 2024 11:59 am

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The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has begun the sale of electronic tags (e-tags) at airports.

In a statement on Friday, FAAN said this initiative is in line with the presidential directive that mandates the use of e-tags for accessing the nation’s federal airports.

“Following the presidential directive that all citizens are mandated to pay for e-tags at all the 24 federal airports across the country, we wish to inform the general public that the e-tags are available for sale from Friday, 17th May, 2024 at the following locations,” FAAN said.

“Lagos: Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Terminal 1, 5th Floor) Office of HOD Commercial. Contact: 08033713796 or 08023546030.

“Abuja: Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, HOD Commercial Office (General Aviation Terminal) Contact: 08034633527 or 08137561615.”

FAAN said there will be an option to pay in cash at the access gates for motorists without e-tags.

On May 14, Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, announced everyone, including the president and vice-president, would pay tolls at the nation’s airports.

Keyamo said the government was losing over 82 percent of the revenue it should have earned from the access fee.

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Business

Emirates Airlines return to Nigeria October 1

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2024 12:45 pm

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Emirates Airlines has confirmed its return to operations in Nigeria starting October 1, 2024.

The airline disclosed this via its official X handle Thursday.

“We’re back, Nigeria! We’ll be resuming services to Lagos from 1 October 2024, and we can’t wait to offer unrivalled connectivity to Dubai and beyond to over 140 cities,” the tweet read.

The airline will be operating a daily service between Lagos State and Dubai, and will offer customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.

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Naira appreciates at official window, depreciates at parallel market

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2024 8:33 am

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The naira depreciated to N1,550 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday.

The current FX rate signifies a decline of 1.95 percent from the N1,520/$ reported on May 13.

Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,510/$ and the selling rate at N1,550/$ — leaving a profit margin of N40.

At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 4.21 percent against the dollar from N1,520.4/$ on May 14 to close at N1,459.02 on Wednesday.

According to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official window, a dollar was sold as high as N1,593 and at a low rate of N1,401 during trading hours.

The daily foreign exchange market turnover was $289.14 million.

On May 14, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said foreign missions based in Nigeria use third parties to transact in foreign currencies.

Speaking during an interview, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s acting director of public affairs, said the commission has a task force whose duty is to fight the abuse of the naira and discourage transactions in dollars within Nigeria — which is against the law.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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