CoinEx, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange, has disclosed that leaked private keys allowed hackers to steal tokens worth over $70 million. The team is working to improve communication in order to recover the stolen funds.
As the team works to create and implement a new wallet design to restore damaged users and platform functionality, CoinEx executives provided Cointelegraph with more specifics of their ongoing investigation.
The exchange asserts that despite an estimated $70 million worth of cryptocurrencies being taken from the system, this sum is a minor portion of its overall assets under management. According to CoinEx, any lost money will be fully reimbursed to the impacted individuals.
2/ Currently, we've completed 30% of our wallet system reconstruction.
— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) September 17, 2023
A few blockchain security companies ascribe the security vulnerability to North Korean Lazarus Group hackers, but CoinEx stated that it was still looking into who was to blame.
The exchange stated that a quick investigation had determined that one of its hot wallets' private keys had been compromised. These were used to hold exchange assets so that deposits and withdrawals could be made.
To stop future losses, CoinEx shut down its withdrawal service, addressed security holes, and moved the remaining funds from the impacted hot wallets. The exchange informed Cointelegraph that it planned to gradually resume withdrawals within seven business days.
According to the original report from Cointelegraph, CoinEx first noticed "anomalous withdrawals" from one of its hot wallets on September 12, starting with a transfer of 4,947 Ether. Following that, the hackers started withdrawing significant sums of additional tokens to the same address.
The first estimate of the stolen money was $27 million, but in the week since the incident, the value has increased by a factor of two.
The biggest robberies in the cryptocurrency market to date have been committed by North Korean hackers, who have been preying on the industry for the previous few years. More than $650 million was taken in the 2022 Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge hack alone.
According to the blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, in 2023 North Korean hackers will have stolen almost $340 million in cryptocurrencies. With the CoinEx hack and a $41 million hack of the cryptocurrency gaming site, Stake on September 4, this number is now anticipated to increase.
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