<p>The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, accusing it of helping hackers, including from North Korea, to launder proceeds from their cyber crimes.</p>.<p>A senior Treasury Department official said Tornado Cash, one of the largest mixers identified as problematic by the Treasury, has reportedly laundered more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since it was created in 2019.</p>.<p>Monday's move freezes any US assets of the mixer and generally bars Americans from dealing with it.</p>.<p>The Lazarus Group, a well-known North Korean government-backed hacking group that has conducted numerous data breaches, both politically and sometimes financially motivated, has laundered at least $455 million through Tornado Cash, the Treasury said.</p>.<p>The Lazarus Group is already under US sanctions. The group has conducted numerous significant data breaches historically, including an intrusion into Sony Pictures in late 2014.</p>.<p>US and South Korean officials say North Korea controls thousands of hackers that steal funds, including cryptocurrencies, to finance its weapons programs.</p>.<p>Pyongyang has denied the accusations.</p>.<p>Tornado Cash and the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p>.<p>Tornado Cash was also used to launder about $100 million from a hack into virtual currency firm Harmony in June and as recently as last week in the theft of Nomad, a virtual currency technology company, the Treasury said.</p>.<p>Despite prior requests for Tornado Cash to make changes, the criminal activity continued, the Treasury official said, leading to the decision to designate the mixer.</p>.<p>In May, the US Treasury also targeted virtual currency mixer Blender, imposing sanctions for the first time on a mixer - a software tool that pools and scrambles cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses.</p>.<p>Hacks have long plagued crypto platforms. And experts say Tornado Cash has played a role in these crimes.</p>.<p>"Tornado is a popular and important tool for cybercriminals and state-backed hacking groups," said Dr Tom Robinson, cofounder of Elliptic, a cryptocurrency analytics firm. "In total, Elliptic's analysis shows that at least $1.3 billion in proceeds of crime such as ransomware, hacks and fraud have been laundered through Tornado Cash."</p>
<p>The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash, accusing it of helping hackers, including from North Korea, to launder proceeds from their cyber crimes.</p>.<p>A senior Treasury Department official said Tornado Cash, one of the largest mixers identified as problematic by the Treasury, has reportedly laundered more than $7 billion worth of virtual currency since it was created in 2019.</p>.<p>Monday's move freezes any US assets of the mixer and generally bars Americans from dealing with it.</p>.<p>The Lazarus Group, a well-known North Korean government-backed hacking group that has conducted numerous data breaches, both politically and sometimes financially motivated, has laundered at least $455 million through Tornado Cash, the Treasury said.</p>.<p>The Lazarus Group is already under US sanctions. The group has conducted numerous significant data breaches historically, including an intrusion into Sony Pictures in late 2014.</p>.<p>US and South Korean officials say North Korea controls thousands of hackers that steal funds, including cryptocurrencies, to finance its weapons programs.</p>.<p>Pyongyang has denied the accusations.</p>.<p>Tornado Cash and the North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p>.<p>Tornado Cash was also used to launder about $100 million from a hack into virtual currency firm Harmony in June and as recently as last week in the theft of Nomad, a virtual currency technology company, the Treasury said.</p>.<p>Despite prior requests for Tornado Cash to make changes, the criminal activity continued, the Treasury official said, leading to the decision to designate the mixer.</p>.<p>In May, the US Treasury also targeted virtual currency mixer Blender, imposing sanctions for the first time on a mixer - a software tool that pools and scrambles cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses.</p>.<p>Hacks have long plagued crypto platforms. And experts say Tornado Cash has played a role in these crimes.</p>.<p>"Tornado is a popular and important tool for cybercriminals and state-backed hacking groups," said Dr Tom Robinson, cofounder of Elliptic, a cryptocurrency analytics firm. "In total, Elliptic's analysis shows that at least $1.3 billion in proceeds of crime such as ransomware, hacks and fraud have been laundered through Tornado Cash."</p>