Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange DragonEx reported that it was targeted by hackers, resulting in the theft of cryptocurrency owned by the exchange and its users. The value of the assets lost in the theft, which took place on March 24, 2019, has not been reported at this time; however, DragonEx reports that it has recovered a portion of the assets. Calling on the assistance of fellow exchanges to help freeze, trace and recover the assets, DragonEx posted 20 wallet addresses to which the funds are believed to have been transferred ‒ each wallet containing a separate cryptocurrency traded on the exchange, including bitcoin, ether, XRP, litecoin, EOS and tether. DragonEx has reported the incident to authorities in Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and other jurisdictions.
According to research from a leading cybersecurity and anti-virus company, alleged North Korean-sponsored cyber threat group Lazarus, a group purportedly responsible for $571 million in cryptocurrency exchange thefts from 2017 to 2018 (nearly 65 percent of the total sum), has been running a new operation using PowerShell to manage and control malware. Prompting calls for members of the cryptocurrency industry to exercise extra caution when dealing with unknown third parties, Lazarus uses macro-enabled documents targeted to a recipient's potential interests (including a specific focus on South Korean businesses) to distribute the malware, and then uses disguised processes to hide its activity.
A research team from Spain and England reports that mining malware has generated more than $56 million over the past 10 years, with most of those profits flowing to a relatively small number of actors. Monero, in particular, appears to be a magnet for such activity, with the analysis indicating that more than 4.3 percent of monero in circulation is the result of criminal activity. In other news, digital anonymity advocacy group the Tor Project recently announced that it is now accepting cryptocurrency donations.
For more information, please refer to the following links:
- Singapore-Based Crypto Exchange DragonEx Has Been Hacked
- Singapore: Crypto Exchange DragonEx Reports Hack of Both Platform, User Assets
- Cryptocurrency businesses still being targeted by Lazarus
- Report: Lazarus Hacker Group Adopts New Methods, Continues Targeting Crypto
- Business Impact A multimillion-dollar criminal crypto-mining ecosystem has been uncovered
- You Can Now Donate to the Tor Project in 9 Different Cryptocurrencies
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