South Korean Crypto Exchange Gdac Hacked for Nearly $13M – On April 9, a group of hackers targeted GDAC, a cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, and managed to steal approximately $13 million worth of various cryptocurrencies from the exchange’s hot wallet. In a statement released on Monday, GDAC reported that the assets stolen by the hackers, which included 60.8 Bitcoin (BTC), 350.5 Ethereum (ETH), 10 million WEMIX tokens, and 220,000 USDT, were equivalent to around 23% of the total holdings of the exchange.
The crypto network named WEMIX is fueled by its own native token, also called WEMIX. The team behind WEMIX has stated that they are keeping a close eye on the situation and have advised people to refer to official announcements made by GDAC for detailed information and updates regarding the incident. Hot wallets are utilized by cryptocurrency exchanges to hold a portion of their funds that are readily available for trading activities and immediate withdrawals.
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Nevertheless, hot wallets are not entirely secure and pose a security risk. Unlike cold wallets that store assets offline, hot wallets are online and connected to the internet, making it easier for hackers to exploit them. Therefore, if a hacker gains access to an exchange’s hot wallet, it can lead to substantial financial losses for both the exchange and its users.
According to Seunghwan Han, the CEO of GDAC, the exchange’s wallet system and associated servers were immediately suspended and blocked as soon as the incident was confirmed. GDAC has taken action in response to the incident by collaborating with domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and issuers to prevent the stolen coins from being laundered and to recover them.
Furthermore, GDAC has notified the Korea Internet & Security Agency, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, and the police regarding the incident. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, there was a significant increase in cryptocurrency thefts last year, with a total of $3.8 billion worth of assets stolen. This represents the largest one-year loss in the history of cryptocurrencies, and it is believed that state-sponsored North Korean hackers were among the most active in these thefts.
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