U.S. authorities seized about $1.2 billion worth of digital assets stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Binance last month after receiving court approval, CNBC reported on Thursday.

Binance was robbed of more than $6 billion on Oct. 29. The Justice Department pointed to forces linked to the North Korean military as being behind it. U.S. government agencies and private companies working together froze more than $2.7 billion of the assets.

The FBI believes members of the North Korean military it calls "TraderTraitor" carried out the attack.

Members of TraderTraitor are continuing to launder stolen assets through multiple cryptocurrency channels. Authorities are continuing their tracing and freezing efforts.

Authorities also seized cloud-based infrastructure known as "FaceStealer" that was used in large-scale identity impersonation fraud.

Hackers hold fake video meetings using stolen accounts, recorded videos of people the target knows, and AI-generated deepfakes. They install malware on computers, saying they need to fix technical problems, then take over victims' communications and steal cryptocurrency. They also target people known to the victims. In some cases, they commit the crimes several months after the initial compromise, or more than a year later. People working in the cryptocurrency and Web3 industries are the main targets.

Patrick Grandy (패트릭 그랜디), head of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said FaceStealer is a social-engineering technique that can deceive even people knowledgeable about technology and security. He said it exploits trust in widely used video conferencing platforms and in people close to the target.

M. Scott Proctor (M. 스콧 프록터), the Justice Department's principal deputy assistant attorney general for national security, said the North Korean government funds the regime and its illegal weapons programs through cryptocurrency theft. He said the United States will use every means to seize and return proceeds North Korea obtained unlawfully.