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Lazarus Strikes Again: North Korean Hackers Behind $55 Million CoinEx Heist
CoinEx, a crypto exchange platform, has been hacked by a notorious North Korean hacker group known as Lazarus, according to blockchain security experts. The hackers reportedly stole more than $55 million worth of crypto assets from the exchange in a sophisticated attack.
Lazarus Group Continues to Plague the Crypto Community
The breach occurred on Sept. 12, when CoinEx detected large outflows of funds to an unknown address. The exchange immediately suspended deposits and withdrawals and assured users that their assets were secure and that they would receive full compensation for any losses. However, the losses were estimated to be much higher than initially reported.
Security firm SlowMist revealed that the exploit had drained more than $55 million from the exchange, making it one of the largest hacks in the crypto space this year.
🚨SlowMist Security Alert🚨
1/ @coinexcom Exploiter, @Stake Exploiter and #Alphapo Exploiter may all have ties to the North Korean Hackers known as #LazarusGroup.
Here’s how we came to that conclusion: https://t.co/IGNldb2ZZJ pic.twitter.com/SLGzSgbCis
— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) September 13, 2023
The identity of the hackers was also uncovered by SlowMist and on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who traced the funds to an address that was linked to the recent hacks on Stake and Optimism.
It appears North Korea is also responsible for the $54M @coinexcom hack from yesterday after they accidentally connected their address to the $41M Stake hack on OP & Polygon.
0x75497999432b8701330fb68058bd21918c02ac59 pic.twitter.com/9qZPdc3yhT
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 13, 2023
Stake, a crypto gambling site, was hacked on Sept. 7 and lost $41 million to the same hacker group. The FBI confirmed that the attack on Stake was carried out by Lazarus, a North Korean hacker group that has been involved in several cyberattacks on crypto platforms and institutions.
Lazarus is believed to be behind the infamous Sony Pictures hack in 2014, as well as the $81 million heist from Bangladesh Bank in 2016. The group is also suspected of using malware and phishing techniques to steal cryptocurrencies from individuals and organizations.
According to a report by Chainalysis, Lazarus stole more than $571 million worth of cryptocurrencies from 2017 to 2018. The CoinEx hack adds to the growing list of security incidents in the crypto industry, which has seen almost $1 billion worth of losses due to hacks, exploits, and scams this year alone.
The incident highlights the need for more robust security measures and regulations to protect users and platforms from malicious actors.
