US seizes $500K from North Korean ransomware attacks

US law enforcement recovered roughly half a million dollars in ransomware payments made to North Korean hackers by victims, including a medical center in Kansas and a healthcare provider in Colorado.
On Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated, “Thanks to rapid reporting and cooperation from a victim, the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors have disrupted the activities of a North Korean state-sponsored group deploying ransomware known as ‘Maui'”
North Korean hackers targeted the Kansas medical center in May 2021, encrypting its servers with ransomware and demanding a payment to restore access.
After about a week, the hospital paid approximately $100,000 in Bitcoin to regain the use of its computers and equipment.
A statement by the Justice Department said, “Because the Kansas medical center notified the FBI and cooperated with law enforcement, the FBI was able to identify the never-before-seen North Korean ransomware and trace the cryptocurrency to China-based money launderers.”