According to cybersecurity firm SlowMist and blockchain researcher ZachXBT, the crypto exchange CoinEx was targeted by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus in an attack worth at least $55 million. The hackers were discovered after mistakenly linking their crypto addresses to the recent Stake and Optimism hacks. This attack adds to the increasing security breaches and losses in the crypto industry, with estimated damages of $1 billion since January 2023.
CoinEx Assures Users of Compensation
On September 12th, CoinEx witnessed a large amount of funds being transferred to an address with no previous history. Security experts suspected a hack attack on the exchange, with initial estimates reaching around $27 million in losses. At the time of writing, cybersecurity firm SlowMist stated that the losses resulting from the exploit exceeded $55 million.
Following the attack, CoinEx Global assured users that their assets were safe and guaranteed 100% compensation for any losses resulting from the attack. In addition, the exchange temporarily suspended deposit and withdrawal operations for enhanced security measures. The CoinEx team continues to monitor the situation and promised to release a comprehensive report in the near future.
Losses Reach $1 Billion
Based on on-chain data behavior, the hackers responsible for the attack appear to be linked to the recent $41 million attack on the crypto gambling site Stake. On September 7th, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that the attack on Stake was carried out by Lazarus Group, a North Korean entity.
The recent attack on CoinEx Global adds to the significant losses in the crypto space due to exploits, hacks, and scams. Cybersecurity firm CertiK reported that nearly $1 billion has been lost since January of this year due to such incidents as of August 2023. In August alone, approximately $45 million was stolen in various malicious attacks.
