On September 14, Remitano, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, found itself in a troubling situation as approximately $2.7 million in cryptocurrencies mysteriously vanished. This unsettling incident has brought to the forefront the ongoing challenges that cryptocurrency exchanges grapple with.

At around 12:45 UTC, Cyvers, a blockchain analytics platform, issued an alert to the cryptocurrency community concerning these puzzling activities. Their investigation revealed that a widely recognized Remitano hot wallet had initiated transfers to an address with no transaction history. This unusual transaction involved a substantial sum, including roughly $1.4 million in Tether (USDT), $208,000 in USD Coin (USDC), and 104,000 Ankr tokens, valued at approximately $2,000 at that particular moment.

🚨UPDATE🚨Yesterday, we saved:

$1.4M USDT on $ETH
$537K USDT on $TRON
The remaining funds in $ANK and $USDC have been swapped to $ETH

162 $ETH ( $264K)deposited to either @Changelly_team or @hitbtc.

We request them to freeze funds from the following address :👇#CyversAlert https://t.co/kkDHx25fPj

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) September 15, 2023

In a swift response aimed at limiting potential losses, Tether took decisive action by freezing the address associated with the suspicious withdrawal. This proactive measure effectively halted any further movement of the USDT and secured $1.4 million of the drained cryptocurrency.

However, the situation took another alarming turn on September 15, around 3:21 UTC, when PeckShieldAlert reported additional suspicious transactions unfolding on the Remitano exchange. These transactions resulted in an additional $2.7 million being siphoned from Remitano’s Ethereum and TRON blockchain wallets.

#PeckShieldAlert PeckShieldAlert #Remitano exchange experienced suspicious transactions, as over $2.7M was drained from its wallet on #Ethereum and #TRON.

Tether has frozen 2 addresses on both #Ethereum and #TRON the attacker allegedly used, potentially saving 2.7M $USDT.

The… pic.twitter.com/BulYe77PzH

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 15, 2023

PeckShieldAlert also disclosed that Tether had acted promptly by freezing two addresses linked to the attacker across the Ethereum, BCH, and TRON blockchains. This decisive move successfully safeguarded the entire $2.7 million worth of USDT.

Further investigation conducted by PeckShieldAlert revealed that the individual operating within the Ethereum blockchain had exchanged the stolen USDC and Ankr tokens for approximately 163 ETH, valued at around $264,000. Subsequently, these funds were transferred to the HitBTC exchange.

Lazarus Group Suspected in Ongoing Cryptocurrency Exchange Hacks, Resulting in Over $200 Million in Stolen Funds in 2023

The year 2023 has witnessed a concerning surge in cryptocurrency exchange hacks, characterized by the compromise of private keys and the subsequent theft of substantial amounts of cryptocurrency. U.S. authorities have attributed these audacious attacks to the Lazarus Group, a cybercrime organization believed to have affiliations with the North Korean government.

One of the most significant incidents occurred on September 4 when the Lazarus Group came under suspicion for orchestrating a $41 million hack of the cryptocurrency gambling platform Stake. This suspicion was later confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in a statement issued on September 7.

The activities attributed to the Lazarus Group in 2023 have allegedly resulted in the pilfering of over $200 million worth of cryptocurrencies. Notably, on September 12, CoinEx, a cryptocurrency exchange, found itself targeted in a suspected attack following a significant outflow of funds from four of its hot wallets, resulting in losses exceeding $27 million.

The Lazarus Group’s hacking endeavors have extended to other high-profile breaches, including those impacting Alphapo, CoinsPaid, and Atomic Wallet. Collectively, these attacks have accounted for over $200 million in stolen funds in 2023.

On July 23, Alphapo, a payment processor, faced suspicious withdrawals totaling over $65 million. CoinsPaid, another payment service provider, incurred losses of over $37 million due to social engineering attacks in late July. Furthermore, users of Atomic Wallet were left reeling from staggering losses of $100 million in June, attributed to an unidentified exploit.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets are subject to rapid fluctuations, and readers are strongly encouraged to conduct thorough research and seek guidance from financial experts before making any investment decisions.