The hackers responsible for the $41 million cryptocurrency casino Stake hack have continued their spree by moving an additional $328,000 million worth of Polygon (MATIC) and BNB tokens, according to CertiK, a blockchain security firm. The recent transfer involved 300 BNB tokens worth approximately $61,500, which were bridged to the Avalanche blockchain on September 11. Additionally, 520,000 MATIC tokens worth over $266,000 were also moved to Avalanche seven hours earlier.
These new moves come after the hackers transferred $4.5 million in stolen funds to the Bitcoin blockchain on September 7. The total amount transferred to date, including the recent moves, only accounts for 1.2% of the $41 million stolen by the hackers.
The hack occurred on September 4 when the hackers gained access to the private key of Stake’s Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum hot wallets. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suspects that the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking group, was behind the exploit.
With the $41 million stolen from Stake, the total amount lost to cryptocurrency hacks and scams in 2023 has now exceeded $1 billion. CertiK previously reported that the figure was nearly $1 billion at the end of August, with recent attacks in the past two weeks pushing the total over the $1 billion mark.
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In addition to the Stake hack, other major incidents include the loss of $24 million in staked Ether (ETH) in a phishing attack on September 6, and the compromise of Vitalik Buterin’s X account (formerly Twitter) on September 9, resulting in a total loss of $691,000 in a nonfungible token scam.
These recent incidents, along with others such as the Pepe coin withdrawal incident ($13.2 million) and the Exactly Protocol exploit ($7.3 million), have contributed to the growing figure of cryptocurrency losses in 2023.
To put this moment in history into perspective and support independent journalism in the crypto space, readers have the opportunity to collect this article as an NFT (non-fungible token).
Overall, the surge in cryptocurrency hacks and scams highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the industry in terms of security. As the value and popularity of cryptocurrencies continue to rise, so too does the incentive for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities. It is crucial for individuals and companies to prioritize the implementation of robust security measures to mitigate the risk of future attacks.
