For all those Dumb takes on supporting Tornado cash and privacy doomers... here's an opposite argument...
It is a known fact that Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored cyber-hacking group operating out of North Korea laundered over $500M through tornado-cash. Here are some examples of the damage they have inflicted:
Financial Losses
The Bangladesh Bank Heist (2016): Lazarus Group successfully stole $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank by hacking into the SWIFT banking system. This was one of the largest cyber heists in history.
Cryptocurrency Thefts: They have targeted and stolen millions from cryptocurrency exchanges and users, with estimates ranging from hundreds of millions to over $1 billion stolen over the years.
Bank Heists: In addition to Bangladesh Bank, they have stolen funds from banks in multiple countries like Ecuador ($12 million from Banco del Austro), Poland, and Mexico.
Operational Disruption
WannaCry Ransomware (2017): The WannaCry ransomware attack crippled over 300,000 computers across 150 countries, causing significant disruption particularly in healthcare systems like the UK's NHS which had to divert emergency patients.
Sony Pictures Hack (2014): Lazarus Group stole massive amounts of data and destroyed 75% of Sony Pictures' internal servers, leading to reputational damage and the cancellation of the movie "The Interview" theatrical release.
Critical Infrastructure Targeting
Recent evidence suggests Lazarus Group targeted energy providers in the US, Canada, and Japan in 2022 by exploiting Log4j vulnerabilities to gain persistent network access, posing risks to critical energy infrastructure.
The group's evolving tactics, including supply chain attacks and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, make them an persistent threat capable of crippling operations and causing major financial losses across industries and nations.
Look at from the victim's standpoint. And imagine they use the money to create nuclear bomb and destroy human civilization?
Link to paper that references this.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFRC-04-2023-0065/full/html
