Onchain analysts link $235M Indian exchange exploit to North Korean hackers

Blockchain data analysts believe that the exploit of India's Wazir X exchange that resulted in a loss of more than $200 million was carried out by North Korean hackers.

On July 18, WazirX temporarily suspended withdrawals for crypto and Indian Rupee (INR) after hacking reports started circulating online. Web3 security firm Syvers has reported that an unauthorized actor moved around $234.9 million worth of digital assets from a Safe MultiSig wallet to another address.

The wallet contains over 200 different digital assets including Shiba Inu (SHIB), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Polygon (MATIC), PEPE (PEPE), Floki (FLOKI) and others.

Tarun Mangukia, founder of payments platform Copperx, said the hackers tricked WazirX into upgrading its secure application with phishing smart contracts over the past eight days. Mangukia has signed the WazirX group for random transactions that lead to exploitation.

A $235 million exploit has been linked to North Korean hackers.

Blockchain forensics firm Ellipti said initial analysis led them to believe the hack was carried out by hackers linked to North Korea. A representative for Elliptical told Cointelegraph:

“North Korea's behavior is based on analyzing the transaction behavior and other data on the chain. There are certain patterns and techniques that are characteristic of this type of actor.

In addition to Elliptic, crypto researcher ZachXBT also made similar conclusions. “The hack has the hallmarks of a Lazarus group attack,” the blockchain investigator said on X after tracing the Wazirx hack to the original exploiter's address.

The Lazarus Group is a North Korean criminal organization known for its cyber exploits and attacks since 2010. The group He started terrorizing the crypto space in 2017 and has been behind some of the biggest exploits in crypto, including $600 million. The Ronin Bridge Incident.

Related: Lazarus Moves Millions From $305M DMM Bitcoin Hack – ZachXBT

Shiba Inu memecoin price decreased by 10%

Over $100 million worth of SHIB tokens were taken during the hack, affecting the value of the digital asset. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain has reported that the attackers have started exchanging SHIB assets for ETH.

The hackers sold 35 billion SHIB tokens worth $618,000 and still hold about $95 million worth of tokens. Since the hack, the price of the dog-themed memecoin has dropped by 10 percent.

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