According to blockchain security firm SlowMist and on-chain investigator ZachXBT, the attack on cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx that siphoned at least $55 million was conducted by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus.
The cyber group was identified after their address was mistakenly linked to the recent Stake and Optimism breaches.
On September 12, CoinEx observed significant outflows of funds to an address without prior activity. Security experts immediately suspected the exchange had been compromised, with initial estimates of approximately $27 million.
At the time of writing, security firm SlowMist noted that the losses from the exploit had reached more than $55 million.
After the theft, CoinEx Global reassured users that their assets were safe and that affected parties would be “fully compensated” for any losses incurred due to the breach.
In addition, the exchange temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals for security reasons. The exchange continued monitoring the situation and promised to disseminate a comprehensive incident report soon.
Based on their on-chain behavior, the hackers appear connected to the recent $41 million breach of the crypto-gambling website Stake. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded on September 7 that the Lazarus Group of North Korea attacked Stake.
The recent attack on CoinEx Global adds enormous sums to the losses caused by crypto space exploits, hacks, and scams. The cybersecurity firm CertiK reported on September 1 that, as of August 2023, nearly $1 billion had been lost to such incidents since January of this year. In August, roughly $45 million was stolen from various evil attacks.
