According to several recent reports, there has been a significant increase in cyber attacks on digital asset platforms since the beginning of 2023. With the rise in fraudulent activities, security concerns in the crypto industry have also been on the rise.
A report published by the South Korean news agency Yonhap News Agency examined the attack attempts faced by the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit in the first half of 2023. Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea in terms of trading volume, was targeted over 159,000 times by various hacking attempts in the first half of 2023, according to the report.
The attacks on Upbit, with a daily trading volume of over $1 billion, showed an average increase of 117% compared to the attacks recorded in the first half of 2022, and a 1,800% increase compared to the attacks recorded in the first half of 2020. The hacking attempts faced by the exchange have been steadily increasing since 2019.
Upbit, the cryptocurrency exchange, has also experienced significant security breaches in the past years. In 2019, Upbit suffered a loss of $50 million.
Enhanced Security Measures by the Exchange
A spokesperson for Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, provided a statement to the South Korean news agency Yonhap News Agency. The statement mentioned that since the $50 million loss in 2019, the exchange has not faced any significant losses on a large scale.
In addition, with the increased attack attempts in the first half of 2023, the exchange has strengthened its security measures. The percentage of funds stored in cold wallets has been increased to 70%. Various security measures have also been taken for funds kept outside of cold wallets.
