According to Cointelegraph: South Korean crypto exchange, Upbit, has seen a dramatic increase in attempted hacks aimed at its platform, with a reported 159,000 incidents recorded in the first half of 2023. The chilling figures reveal a 117% rise compared to the first half of 2022, and a staggering 1,800% surge when compared to the same period in 2020. These numbers were released by Dunamu, the firm operating Upbit, in response to South Korean Representative Park Seong-jung’s queries.
In addition to being one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit handles substantial trading volumes, exceeding $1.2 billion over the last 24 hours. The exchange ranks alongside key players like Bithumb, Coinone, and Gopax in the South Korean crypto marketplace.
Following previous security breaches, most notably a $50 million exploit in 2019, Upbit has amplified its security measures. As part of its safety regimen, the exchange now stores 70% of its funds in cold wallets. The platform has also heightened the security for funds held in hot wallets, which are more susceptible to hacking due to their online-based private keys.
Since the comprehensive security overhaul in 2019, Upbit reports that it has fortified its defenses and not suffered a single security breach. However, a recent incident involving a fake token "ClaimAPTGift.com," which infiltrated 400,000 Aptos wallets, led to a halt in Aptos token services.
Representative Park Seong-jung expresses concerns about the apparent uptick in crypto hacks. He urges the South Korean government for more proactive measures, such as conducting extensive whitewashing mock tests and thorough investigations into the information security conditions of virtual asset exchanges that are frequently under cyber attack. Seong-jung criticized the Ministry of Science and ICT's unclear role in managing and supervising these exchanges.
The problem is not limited to Upbit as instances of cyber attacks on crypto exchanges have grown globally. CoinEx, a Hong Kong-based exchange, suffered a $70 million hack in September, while Huobi Global's HTX exchange lost $7.9 million in a separate exploit.
