WazirX hacked: North Korean hackers behind $235 million theft from Indian investors

WazirX was hacked earlier this month leading to a loss of $235 million in various crypto assets. Consequently, the company had to freeze transactions due to breach. Following the hack, the company released a bounty program to find the trail behind the lost crypto. A cybersecurity company Cyfirma has finally identified that a North Korean hacker group was behind the theft. The stolen include $96.7 million in Shiba Inu, $52.6 million in Ether, $11 million in Matic and $7.6 million in Pepe.

The North Korean hacker group known as Lazarus has been said to be responsible for this breach. The report claims that the Lazarus Group is linked to North Korea's intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB). This group has two subgroups, APT38 and BlueNoroff, which specifically target financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide.

History of Lazarus group's activities

APT38 focuses on financial crimes, attacking banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. They use techniques like custom malware, spear-phishing, and exploiting software vulnerabilities.
BlueNoroff targets financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, often setting up fake companies to gain trust and infiltrate systems.

Previous high-profile attacks

Bithumb (South Korea): Suffered multiple hacks in 2017 and 2018, resulting in millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency.

Coincheck (Japan): In January 2018, over $530 million worth of NEM tokens were stolen in a hack with methods consistent with Lazarus tactics.

Youbit (South Korea): Declared bankruptcy in December 2017 after a hack attributed to Lazarus, losing 17 per cent of its assets.