Upbit saw a 117% rise in hacking attempts in the first half of 2023 Cryptocurrency scrgruppen

Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, faced more than 159,000 hack attempts during the first half of 2023, according to operator Dunamu. This number represents a significant leap, rising by 117% compared to the same period in 2022 and a staggering increase of 1,800% compared to the first half of 2020.

Upbit is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, boasting an impressive 24-hour trading volume of around $1.2 billion, as reported by CoinGecko. Other important players in the South Korean exchange market include Bithumb, Coinone, and Gopax.

Upbit has strengthened its security measures

In response to the escalation of security breach attempts, Donamo open The stock exchange has strengthened its security procedures. This includes increasing the proportion of funds stored in cold wallets to 70%, thus strengthening its security infrastructure. Additionally, Upbit has implemented enhanced security protocols for funds held in hot wallets.

Upbit faced a $50 million vulnerability in 2019. After the hacking incident, a spokesperson for Donamo, in a statement to Yonhap, said the company implemented various measures to prevent a recurrence, including distributing and operating hot wallets.

To date, no cyber breach has occurred. It should be noted that hot wallets, which store private keys online, are more vulnerable to hacking than cold wallets, where private keys are stored on external devices such as hard drives and USB devices.

However, Upbit faced a setback in late September when it was forced to suspend Aptos token services. This was due to the platform’s failure to detect a fake code called “ClaimAPTGift.com”, which managed to infiltrate 400,000 Aptos wallets.

Cryptocurrency piracy on the rise in South Korea

Seong-jong acknowledged the significant increase in cryptocurrency hacks and urged the South Korean government to take more decisive action.

He stressed the need for the Ministry of Science and Technology to conduct large-scale cybersecurity tests and verify the readiness of information security for exchanging virtual assets, especially in light of repeated hacking attempts. He also pointed out the ambiguous role of the Ministry of Science and ICT in supervising and managing these exchanges.

In a series of attacks in September, several cryptocurrency exchanges fell victim. Hong Kong-based CoinEx suffered a $70 million hack after one of the company’s private keys was compromised. The company confirmed that users affected by the breach will be compensated for the lost funds. Huobi Global’s HTX exchange also suffered a loss of $7.9 million in an exploit on September 24.