North Korean hackers swiped over $100M from Atomic Wallet users

Atomic Wallet, a non-custodial decentralized wallet, has fallen victim to a shocking exploit that has caused users to report the loss of their entire cryptocurrency portfolios. This unexpected breach has sent shockwaves through the crypto community, as the fundamental premise of atomic wallets relies on users taking full responsibility for securely storing their assets.

The damage caused by the theft of the atomic wallet is now skyrocketing More than $100 million, according to an analysis by Elliptic. This alarming statistic highlights the seriousness of the attack, which compromised an estimated 5,500 crypto wallets.

Despite the magnitude of the incident, Atomic Wallet has yet to provide any explanation regarding the root cause of these massive losses. This has given rise to growing concerns from frustrated users who are anxiously waiting for clarification and assurance from the company. Meanwhile, at the time of publication, the company’s last update on Twitter was on June 7.

Frustrated Atomic Wallet users have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure over the way the company is handling the issue. Twitter user Ezra Carlson tagged Atomic Wallet and shared, “Why won’t AM give me a straight answer about why they didn’t warn me, knowing full well they were being hacked, that last week It was not safe to use AM.” I transferred to my wallet which was later hacked.”

@AtomicWallet Why won’t AM give me a straight answer about why they didn’t warn me, knowing full well that they were being hacked, that it was not safe to use AM last week, before I put money into my wallet Had transferred which was then hacked.

— Ezra Carlson (@ezziecarlson) June 13, 2023

Another user, “Real Deal Crypto,” called out Atomic Wallet for the lack of updates regarding the situation, “Your last update was five days ago – seriously?!?!?”

@AtomicWallet Your last update was five days ago – seriously?!?!

— RealDealCrypto (@hokiefan691S) June 13, 2023

On June 3, Atomic Wallet acknowledged reports of a compromised wallet in a tweet, but downplayed the impact, saying that “less than 1%” of its user base had been affected. However, the staggering amount of damage suggests a significant breach.

Less than 1% of our monthly active users are affected/reported at this time. The last withdrawal transaction was confirmed 40 hours ago.

Security check is in progress. We report the victim’s address to major exchanges and blockchain analytics to trace and block the stolen funds.

– Atomic – Crypto Wallet (@AtomicWallet) June 5, 2023

Related: Atomic Wallet Hack Caused $35M in Losses, On-Chain Sleuth Reports

Elliptic has linked the robbery to the infamous Lazarus Group, which is believed to be responsible for stealing over $2 billion in crypto assets through various thefts. According to Elliptic, the disclosure marks the first time the Lazarus Group has been openly attributed a significant crypto heist since the $100 million heist of Horizon Bridge in June 2022.

Following the heist, Elliptic shared that it was cooperating with international investigators and the exchange and mobilizing its resources to recover the stolen assets. The firm’s efforts have reportedly resulted in more than $1 million worth of stolen funds being frozen so far. However, the blockchain analysis company noted that “in response to these funds being frozen, thieves have begun to change their behavior. In particular, they have turned to the Russia-based Garantex exchange to clear stolen assets.” Are.”

The latest attack adds to a series of notable breaches, including a recent exploit of the Zimbos protocol that resulted in a loss of $7.5 million, and a malicious proposal that gained governance control of Tornado Cash in May. According to the Chainalysis report, it is estimated that crypto hackers absconding A staggering $3.8 billion in 2022, with a significant portion linked to North Korea-linked attacks and a large number of exploits targeting decentralized finance protocols.

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