CoinEx, a cryptocurrency exchange, has temporarily halted withdrawal services due to a suspected hack. A significant amount of tokens were illicitly taken from the platform. This decision followed alerts from various cybersecurity companies.
CoinEx has stated it “detected anomalous withdrawals from several hot wallet addresses used to store CoinEx’s exchange assets.” Early warnings suggested that the potential losses might amount to a total of $27 million. The hacker had drained a mix of Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRON), and Polygon (MATIC).
On Tuesday evening, CoinEx stated that they were still in the process of precisely calculating the extent of the loss. But emphasized that it constituted “just a very small portion of CoinEx’s total assets.”
“We assure all users: your assets are secure and untouched,” the company said on X. “Affected parties will receive 100% compensation for any loss due to this breach.”
Following the breach acknowledgment, CoinEx has published multiple lists of wallet addresses associated with the suspected hack. These include the originally mentioned three tokens, along with Bitcoin (BTC), Arbitrum (ARB), Solana (SOL), and several other cryptocurrencies.
But who is the culprit?
ZachXBT reveals that upon checking the wallets involved, it becomes evident that some of the transactions were channeled into wallets associated with a recent $41 million cyberattack on the crypto betting platform Stake. These wallets have been previously linked to the notorious North Korean hacking group Lazarus, renowned for its targeting of cryptocurrency-related businesses.
Lazarus, the prolific North Korean hacking group, has once again demonstrated its expertise in cybercrime with a series of successful attacks this year. The group’s ability to adapt and execute such high-value cyberattacks underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the cybersecurity community in countering their activities.
