$235 Million WazirX Exchange Exploit Believed to Be Masterminded by North Korean Hackers

Key Points:

• North Korean hackers are suspected of stealing approximately $235 million in various crypto assets from WazirX.
• WazirX confirmed the breach, with significant losses including $96.7 million in Shiba Inu, $52.6 million in Ether, and $11 million in Matic.
• The WazirX exchange exploit bears similarities to previous attacks by the notorious North Korean Lazarus Group.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has reported that North Korean-affiliated hackers are believed to be behind today’s significant exploit of the crypto trading platform WazirX.

Read more: WazirX Hacked: $235 Million Stolen, SHIB and FLOKI Worth Millions For Sale!

North Korean Hackers Steal $235 Million in WazirX Exchange Exploit

The WazirX exchange exploit resulted in the theft of approximately $235 million in various crypto assets. In a July 18 post on X, WazirX confirmed a security breach involving one of its multisig wallets, leading to the loss of an undisclosed sum.

Elliptic’s analysis revealed that the stolen assets included over 200 different cryptocurrencies. The breakdown of the stolen funds is significant: around $96.7 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB), $52.6 million in Ether (ETH), $11 million in Matic (MATIC), and $7.6 million in Pepe (PEPE).

WazirX, one of India’s largest crypto trading platforms, has faced controversy in the past regarding its ownership structure. Last year, a public dispute arose between WazirX founder Nischal Shetty, who claimed Binance had acquired the exchange, and Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, who denied the acquisition.

Lazarus Group Suspected in High-Profile WazirX Hack

The stolen assets, as detailed by blockchain analyst Lookonchain, include 5.43 trillion SHIB tokens, 15,298 ETH, 20.5 million MATIC, 640.27 billion PEPE, 5.79 million USDT, and 135 million GALA. This aligns with findings from crypto investigator ZachXBT, who suggested that the WazirX exchange exploit exhibited characteristics of a Lazarus Group attack.

The Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korean hacking organization, has been linked to numerous cybercrimes since 2010, including high-profile crypto heists. In recent years, they have targeted the crypto industry, with a Chainalysis report estimating that they have stolen over $3 billion in the past five years. The group has laundered significant sums through Tornado Cash and employed social engineering tactics to breach various crypto projects.