On-chain researcher ZachXBT uncovered an additional $37 million stolen in the course of the recent breach of the crypto payment provider Alphapo. The total loss amounted to $60 million.
He also suggested the involvement of the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group in the incident, saying they ‘leave a clear fingerprint in the network’. The attack affected addresses on the Bitcoin, Tron and Ethereum networks.
Alphapo processed transactions for online-gambling platforms HypeDrop, Bovada and Ignition, from which the bulk of the funds were stolen.
Given that the hot wallets of the protocols were continuously connected to the Internet, it was easier for the attackers to access them. Some platforms have already suspended withdrawals to prevent further losses.
According to experts DeDotFi, the attackers who hit the Alphapo.eth address converted the stolen funds into ETH, and then routed them through the Bitcoin and Avalanche networks.
Analysts suggested that a likely cause of the incident was a leak of private keys.
In July, the hacker pulled from the DeFi protocol Rodeo Finance $1.5 million through oracle manipulation.
For the first half of 2023, the crypto industry faced 395 hacks, losing about $479.4 million as a result.