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Hacking Group Robbed Nearly $200M From 5 Exchange Platforms

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According to ClearSky ‘s report, on June 25, a single hacking group stole approximately $ 200 million from cryptocurrency exchanges. The malicious group used a spear-phishing strategy to gain access to cryptocurrency exchanges, which proved to be effective.

The hacking group is known as “CryptoCore,” which is believed to operate out of Eastern Europe. The report also notes that the group has been targeting attacks on crypto exchanges since 2018. CryptoCore focused mainly on the exchange platforms of the United States and China.

Over time , the group has managed to rip off some $200 million from various exchanges. However, ClearSky does not believe that they are technically advanced on a massive scale despite their success. The report notes that their main tactics are “swift, persistent and efficient.”

Hacking group strategy breakdown

Hackers have access to cryptocurrency wallets belonging to exchange firms. The hacking group begins with a broad review phase on the target exchange and its employees. The hacking group warms its way by deploying spear-phishing attacks; for example, they send emails to the firm’s executives through an email that looks like a top employee or a high-ranking partner company official.

Once they get into the system, the gang installs malware and infringes the executive’s password manager account; this is where all the private keys to all the cryptocurrency wallets are stored. The next step is to wait patiently for the multi-factor authenticator to be removed. If it is eliminated, the hacking group moves quickly and steals all the money from the wallets as per the report.

Spear-phishing attacks

In conclusion, spear-phishing attacks are a popular strategy used by cryptocurrency con men, and they are very problematic. Earlier this year, a major spear-phishing attack was deployed on YouTube users. As a result, multiple accounts with massive follow-ups and subscriptions; were compromised and hijacked when owners clicked on the link.

South Korean Police Calls Upon Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone to Help in ‘Blue House’ Investigation

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Cryptocurrency companies usually come under pressure from legal departments for the way they work. After the advent of Bitcoin over a decade ago, the industry has always been locked in a battle with authorities around the world.

This time, however, the South Korean police have called upon the services of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country to track ransom money for the infamous ‘Blue House’ incident. Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone are the four exchanges that will directly assist the police.

Four cryptocurrency exchanges said they will do all they might to help track down the 6.5 billion won that was received in the form of payment. The South Korean public has risen in chaos ever since it was announced that a small group of people had access to thousands of illicit sexual content.

Reports claimed that 1.8 million people had signed a petition asking the presidential Blue House to release the identities of the group chat network where the videos were posted.

A majority of the capital was transferred via cryptocurrencies with one confirmed member, Zhao Zhuobin, bagging almost 3.3 billion himself. The rest of the 3.2 billion is yet to be converted into fiat currency. Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone have said that they would also help in tracking the users who transferred the capital to the owner of the chat room.

South Korean Media has said that the Blue House chat room had over 260,000 members, some of which were non paying. The public outcry also resulted in the National Police Agency releasing the culprits’ identity: Cho Joo-bin. He was indicted for allegedly blackmailing at least 74 women, including 16 minors into creating videos of themselves. They were then asked to upload the videos to the chat room, where it was made available to paid members.

According to the South Korean Police his “malicious and repetitive criminal method that forced sexually abusive videos out of women whom he labeled slaves” should never be seen in the country again. The agency added:

“We decided to release his name, age and face after reviewing how it would serve the public interest regarding the people’s right to know and the prevention of similar crimes from recurring“

The accused worked using the alias “Doctor” and posted the videos on Telegram to the exclusive group of people. According to some claims, the accused charged almost $1200 in crypto per person. Essentially, this money was the entry fee for the Telegram group. Min Gap-Ryong, NPA Commissioner-General, acknowledged that the culprit had ruined the lives of several innocent citizens.

Police in South Korea were now on a warpath to uproot such practices from society. Currently, 124 suspects were being tracked down in relation to this case. South Korean police added that 18 people were arrested since last year in relation to sexual-abuse crimes.