Hacking

The U.S. Justice Department seized about US$500,000 from North Korea-backed hackers using ransomware, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced on Tuesday. See related article: US Treasury says prioritize sanctioning North Korea for crypto hacking Fast facts Hackers demanded Bitcoin ransom from Kansas and Colorado medical providers that were attacked by a never-before-seen ransomware strain called […]

State-affiliated hacker group Lazarus is allegedly connected to the US$100 million hack on Harmony Protocol’s Horizon cross-chain bridge, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said. See related article: Horizon’s US$100 mln crypto hack prompts FBI investigation Fast facts The attack on Harmony resembled previous hacks attributed to the Lazarus Group, such as exploiting multi-signature wallet keys, extensive […]

Sky Mavis’ Ronin Bridge is back online after one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) heists in history prompted a three-month network hiatus, Ronin announced in a Tuesday newsletter. See related article: Are we helpless against attacks on blockchain bridges? Fast facts Ronin Bridge is used by non-fungible token (NFT) game Axie Infinity players to […]

Crypto hacks facilitated by North Korea help fund its weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Treasury Department’s Brian E. Nelson said on his recent visit to South Korea. See related article: North Korea behind Ronin hack: US Fast facts Nelson met with representatives of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) on […]

Harmony’s Horizon cross-chain bridge is now the third of its kind to suffer a major hack this year. What are the alternatives that may be more secure?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and multiple cybersecurity companies have started investigating the US$100 million hack on Harmony Protocol’s Horizon cross-chain bridge. See related article: Axie Infinity hack proceeds continue to be laundered despite US sanctions Fast facts Harmony Protocol announced it was attacked on Friday morning Asia time, adding it had alerted exchanges […]

IRA Financial Trust announced a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Company on Monday for alleged failures in safeguarding IRA’s crypto assets in the exchange. See related article: Binance users burned by outage band together to take legal action Fast facts IRA manages self-directed retirement accounts in non-traditional assets such as Bitcoin which were held […]

The Twitter account of non-fungible token (NFT) artist Mike Winkelmann, widely known as Beeple, was briefly hacked on Sunday and used to promote a phishing scam to drain over US$72,000 from Ether wallets of victims.   See related article: Twitter hacker takes over verified accounts to promote fake Azuki NFT drop Fast facts The hacker shared […]

Solana suffered another outage on Sunday Asia time, after the network lost consensus due to bots flooding the non-fungible token (NFT) minting tool “Candy Machine,” spamming more than six million transactions per second.  See related article: Solana DeFi avoids meltdown as Wormhole loss replaced Fast facts The network was down for about seven hours before […]

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office has indicted a local executive from a cryptocurrency investment firm and an active-duty military officer for violating the National Security Act by leaking military secrets to a North Korean hacker in exchange for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to the prosecutor’s investigation report shared with Forkast. See related article: […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Tweet dreams come true for world’s richest man. Instagram scam hits Bored Apes. Bilibili tests China’s NFT boundaries.

Non-fungible token (NFT) scammers took control of the University of the Philippines’ official Twitter account on Monday evening, posting several tweets promoting a fake airdrop.  See related article: Twitter hacker takes over verified accounts to promote fake Azuki NFT drop Fast facts The attackers renamed the Twitter account to “takashi murakami” — the name of […]

The Lazarus Group, the North Korean hacking group linked to the US$600 million Axie Infinity hack in March, is still laundering funds stolen from the hack despite sanctions imposed by the U.S.  See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts Despite U.S. sanctions, North Korean hackers have been freely laundering […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Crisis response brings crypto relief. North Korea’s Lazarus Group named in Ronin hack. NFTs face new risks in China.

US authorities says North Korea is responsible for Ronin hack. Meanwhile, Binance and Gulf Energy initiate joint venture.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of the Treasury allege North Korea’s Lazarus Group and APT38 were responsible for stealing cryptocurrencies worth about US$620 million off the Ethereum sidechain Ronin. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts The hack was perpetrated by the Democratic People’s […]

In India, Mobikwik yanks crypto support. Meanwhile in the cyberspace, a Twitter hack promotes a fake NFT drop.

India’s Ministry of Education was one of the latest victims in a series of hacks against verified Twitter accounts promoting fake Azuki non-fungible token (NFT) airdrops.  See related article: Azuki spikes past Bored Apes in daily sales Fast facts India’s University Grant Commission (UGC), which has more than 295,000 followers on Twitter, was hacked on […]

News of Sky Mavis raising US$150 million to compensate users following the around US$600 million hack on its Ronin Bridge led to a surge in Axie non-fungible tokens (NFT) sales. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts Binance leads the round along with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, a16z, Dialectic, […]

At least 500 Ether looted from the US$600 million Ronin hack has been transferred to Tornado Cash. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts An Ethereum address associated with the hack made two 100 ETH deposits to Tornado Cash on Monday morning Asia time. Over an hour later, the […]

Sky Mavis, the developer of the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, delayed its highly anticipated Origin upgrade in response to the recent hack worth over US$600 million on its Ronin network.  See related article: Top NFT game Axie Infinity generated $1.3B in revenue last year Fast facts The Vietnam-based developer’s new Origin upgrade will now […]

Alibaba makes a $60M metaverse bet on AR glasses maker Nreal. Meanwhile, Axie’s Ronin blockchain gets hacked.

Top blockchain and cryptocurrency news: Dubai’s crypto caravan. Mt. Gox unlocked. Digital yuan in play again.

Ethereum sidechain Ronin, where play-to-earn blockchain game Axie Infinity runs, has been hacked for over US$600 million in crypto, making it one of the biggest hacks in crypto history. See related article: Axie Infinity becomes first NFT series to break $4B in sales Fast facts Ronin said the hacker compromised four of their own validator […]

Aided by crypto like Monero, ransomware crimes are on the rise globally, writes Srinivas Mukkamala of Ivanti. Android users are especially vulnerable.

The $320 million Wormhole hack laid bare the vulnerability of cross-chain bridges, writes Alex Smirnov of deBridge. How can we plug the gaps?

The ransomware outfit behind Nvidia’s data breach last week is looking to sell what it claims to be a driver that unlocks Ethereum mining limitations on the chipmaker’s graphic cards. See related article: China customs seizes 49 second-hand crypto mining rigs for export Fast facts The hacker group Lapsus$ allegedly stole 1TB of data from […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Super Bowl score for digital asset exchanges. CryptoPunks holders face copyright conundrum. Hong Kong warns of NFT risks.

North Korea’s foreign affairs ministry wrote on its website Tuesday that the U.S. is behind the claim that the socialist state hacked millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency. Fast facts The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) warned that it considers the act of spreading rumors about a “non-existent” cryptocurrency theft to be a serious […]

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized over US$3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to crypto exchange Bitfinex’s hack that occurred in 2016, as the country ramps up efforts to combat crypto crime. Fast facts The DOJ said Tuesday in a statement that it has arrested two individuals for allegedly laundering proceeds of 119,754 […]

Top blockchain and crypto news: Market chills make investors shiver. Hacking storm at OpenSea. Has Beijing tamed NFTs?

The fast-growing crypto exchange Crypto.com discloses large amounts of Bitcoin and Ether were stolen from 483 customers.

State-backed hackers from North Korea stole cryptocurrencies worth about US$395 million last year across at least seven cyber attacks, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain data company. Fast facts Several of the attacks were likely led by Lazarus, a group of hackers believed to be backed by North Korea’s primary intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, […]

A computer database at a supermarket in eastern China is being held hostage by cybercriminals demanding 0.042 Bitcoin, which amounts to US$1,832, according to a Chinese media report. Fast facts

Cryptocurrency is fueling crimes like malicious mining and ransomware attacks, writes Andrew Brandt of Sophos. What can a company do to protect itself?

While increasing crypto adoption was predictable, 2021 also saw much that was unexpected. Here are the events that shocked even crypto natives.

Hackers scam 7,000 Solana, or US$1.3 million, from would-be buyers of a new NFT collection of the Monkey Kingdom project.

Blockchain gaming studio Vulcan Forged was hacked on Tuesday and 4.5 million PYR, the platform’s native token, was stolen, the company announced on Twitter. Fast facts Vulcan Forged also runs a decentralized exchange and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. The attacker gained the private keys to 96 wallets and proceeded to empty them, making off […]

Macroeconomic factors and a spate of bad news override bullish outlook in crypto market as the year lurches toward its end.

With suitable regulation in place, DeFi could yet play an important role in the financial system, BIS suggests.

BadgerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on bringing Bitcoin to decentralized finance (DeFi), is the latest to suffer an exploit that was estimated to result in losses of US$120 million. Fast facts Crypto security firm PeckShield said in a Thursday tweet the total loss has amounted to at least 2,100 BTC and 151 ETH. […]

Blockchain gaming company Animoca reacts to a US$1.1 million scam on a Discord server for its upcoming new game release.

BXH suffers US$130 million exploit, also Squid game token meets deadly end

The hacked DeFi platform called China’s cyber police first thing as most users appear to be in China.

The big-money world of NFTs is also attracting hackers, thieves and con artists. How do you know if that Ape NFT or digital Banksy is fake?

This follows an attack on Cream Finance that also resulted in a $130M hack.

Behind this year’s giddy markets, evil and tragedies abound. Just in time for Halloween, Forkast.News shakes out the skeletons in crypto’s closet.

South Korea crypto debate heats up, also Bitcoin mining ETF starts trading

This appears to be the third hack for the protocol this year — yet the biggest one so far.

Technical woes continue to beset decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Compound this week as a hack resulted in 202,472 COMP, or US$68 million at the time, being transferred from its reservoir to its Comptroller where the funds remain vulnerable to being drained by subsequent transactions. Fast facts Yearn.Finance developer Banteg tweeted about the hack late Sunday […]

SushiSwap, a Japanese decentralized exchange, has dismissed the claims of a white hat hacker who says two contracts on the exchange have a vulnerability that puts US$1 billion worth of user assets at risk. Fast facts An anonymous white hat hacker published a report on Thursday claiming there is a loophole in the emergency withdrawal […]

Decentralized finance platform Vee Finance, which is based on the Avalanche blockchain, has suffered from a hack that saw the loss of Ether and Bitcoin tokens worth US$35 million, the lending platform announced on Tuesday. Fast facts Vee Finance suspended the platform’s contracts as well as its deposit and borrow function to protect user assets […]

FTX hit by hack rumor meanwhile Korea updates crypto death note

Scams and fake news have long dogged the crypto world. This week saw two major blockchain companies and a global retailer get swept up by hack rumors or hoaxes.

A Canadian-American citizen, who laundered tens of millions of dollars for cybercriminals including North Korea’s military intelligence agency hackers, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Fast facts Ghaleb Alaumary, 36, pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2020 and has been asked to pay US$30 million in restitution […]

C.R.E.A.M. Finance suffered a flash loan exploit that was much larger than earlier estimates

C.R.E.A.M. Finance, a Taipei-based decentralized lending platform for individuals, institutions and protocols to access financial services, has suffered a flash loan exploit that led to a loss of about US$28 million, underlining the potential vulnerabilities of decentralized finance mechanisms. Fast facts C.R.E.A.M. tweeted on Monday that its market on Ethereum suffered an exploit, “resulting in […]

Korea’s love for crypto continues while Crypto exchange Bilaxy hacked

The 20th hijack this month, after Poly Network, Solend and Liquid.

The Poly Network hacking saga has finally reached a happy ending with the crypto thieves releasing the last key to the remaining funds of 28,953 Ether and 1,032 Wrapped Bitcoin tokens, worth approximately US$141 million, on Monday. According to Poly Network, the company is in the process of returning full asset control to users, although […]

The hunt for hackers who stole an estimated US$97 million from the Japanese crypto exchange Liquid last week has hit some snags as the cybercriminals have been actively hiding their tracks with a crypto mixing tool as they move to transfer their loot into other wallets. Fast facts According to public blockchain information on Etherscan, […]

The Poly Network hackers have returned assets worth around US$427 million, the company announced on Thursday. But hackers accused the company of “incompetency” and are refusing to give back the rest of the loot. Fast facts The hackers had transferred the stolen assets worth over US$600 million in total to mutli-signature wallets controlled by the […]

Money laundering token tracer developed using AMLBot application programming interface was suspended within eight hours of public exposure.

Poly Network wants to hire the hacker who stole over US$600 million worth of tokens from the platform last week — as its chief security advisor, according to a tweet by the company. Fast facts In response to the job offer, the hacker posted a joke on the Ethereum blockchain that was shared in a […]

India crypto bill awaits approval while Poly Network hack saga continues

The hackers claim that trust issues with the Poly Network team are slowing down the complete handover of stolen assets.

Poly Network recovers assets meanwhile Rario launches cricket NFT platform

Poly Network has confirmed that all its remaining stolen assets on Ethereum, worth around US$269 million, barring US$33 million worth of Tether that was frozen post-attack, have been returned to a multi-signature wallet controlled by itself and the hacker. Fast facts The hacker had returned more than 50% of the assets stolen on the Polygon […]

Poly Network assets returned also OKEx lists Baby Doge

Accounting and consultancy giant Accenture has become the latest major victim of a ransomware attack. After Accenture initially reported that it had repelled a hacker group named Lockbit, encrypted files belonging to Accenture began to be published today, according to a report by Decrypt. Fast facts An Accenture spokesperson said in a statement: “Through our […]

Poly Network hackers have returned stolen assets worth around US$340 million so far.

Impact of one of the biggest heists in the industry looks set to be mitigated as hackers agree to return funds.