Upbit Confirms $36 Million Hack by Suspected Lazarus Group
South Korea's largest virtual asset platform, Upbit Exchange, has experienced a significant breach resulting in the theft of virtual assets valued at 44.5 billion won, primarily from the Solana network. The Lazarus Group, an entity with known links to North Korea, is strongly suspected of orchestrating this attack. Authorities have launched an on-site investigation into the incident, drawing parallels to a similar attack in 2019 that was also attributed to Lazarus.
Upbit's CEO, Oh Kyoung-suk, confirmed the hack, prioritizing the protection of customer assets and pledging full reimbursement using the exchange's own funds. In response to the incident, Upbit immediately halted deposit and withdrawal services for Solana assets and initiated comprehensive inspections. Funds were also secured in cold wallets to mitigate further financial risks and maintain customer confidence.
"Immediately after detecting the abnormal withdrawal activity, we prioritized protecting member assets by halting deposit and withdrawal services and initiating a comprehensive inspection." He also assured, "We plan to fully cover any potential losses using Upbit’s own assets to ensure no harm comes to customer funds."
The incident has prompted a strong reaction from government agencies, including South Korea's Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), which is actively involved in scrutinizing the matter to confirm the Lazarus Group's involvement. The wider community is exhibiting increased vigilance, with efforts underway to trace the stolen funds and actions taken such as freezing assets like LAYER.
Solana Price Dynamics and Security Implications
This recent hack on Upbit occurred exactly six years after the first Lazarus-linked Upbit hack on November 27, 2019, highlighting the persistent cybersecurity challenges faced by cryptocurrency exchanges globally. The repetition of similar attack methodologies underscores the ongoing need for robust security measures.
As of recent data, Solana's price is approximately $139.02, with a market capitalization of $77.77 billion. The trading volume over the last 24 hours was $3.36 billion, representing a decrease of 36.70%. Solana's price experienced a slight decrease of 2.98% in the past 24 hours, though it remains up 4.03% over the past week. The cryptocurrency market is closely monitoring these trends in light of ongoing security concerns.
Research indicates that this recent breach underscores the critical need for enhanced security frameworks within the cryptocurrency infrastructure. This incident is likely to lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and emphasizes the necessity for exchanges to adopt more advanced technological safeguards to protect user assets.