Hacker Transfers Stolen Funds to Ethereum
A hacker recently stole funds from the CoinEx cryptocurrency exchange and transferred them to Ethereum. The stolen funds came from the Tron and Polygon blockchains. The hacker mixed the funds with addresses associated with other hacks, such as the Stake hack and the Atomic wallet hack. Based on blockchain activity, cybersecurity firm Elliptic believes that the Lazarus Group is responsible for the CoinEx theft.
Lazarus Group Linked to More Hacks
The Lazarus Group has been connected to additional hacks, including those targeting CoinsPaid and Alphapo. Elliptic has observed a shift in Lazarus’ focus towards centralized platforms rather than decentralized ones, possibly due to the ease of conducting social engineering attacks against such targets.
CoinEx Responds to Attack
CoinEx has released an open letter to the hackers, urging them to contact the company to discuss a bug bounty and the return of the stolen funds. This year, Web3 platforms have lost over $1.2 billion in hacks and rug pulls, with August alone accounting for $23.4 million in losses. Ethereum has been the most targeted network, with five distinct incidents affecting protocols built on it.
Hot Take: Increasing Vulnerability of Web3 Platforms
The recent theft from CoinEx highlights the increasing vulnerability of Web3 platforms to hacking attacks. With over $1.2 billion lost this year alone, it is evident that more needs to be done to strengthen security measures in the crypto space. The rise in attacks on Ethereum-based protocols emphasizes the importance of implementing robust security protocols on decentralized networks.