In a recent turn of events, the Bitcoin DeFi application Alex Lab has attributed a $4 million exploit to the notorious Lazarus Group, a North Korea-backed cyber-hacking entity. According to an X post by the project, extensive investigations facilitated by the crypto sleuth ZachXBT have uncovered substantial transaction evidence linking the attack to the Lazarus Group.
ALEX Security Update
Dear Community,
We want to keep everyone informed about the recent attack and our ongoing efforts to address the situation with ALEX. Yesterday, we became aware of an exploit using compromised private keys obtained via a phishing attack. The exploiter was…— ᛤ ALEX 🟧 THE Finance Layer on Bitcoin ᛤᛤᛤ (@ALEXLabBTC) May 16, 2024
The Attack and Investigations
- In May, Alex Lab suffered a major attack that resulted in approximately $4.3 million in losses.
- The project identified two crucial addresses – an initial exploit link and an address connected to the Lazarus Group – which helped trace the flow of the stolen assets.
- Alex Lab is actively collaborating with international law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to address the implications of the attack and recover the lost assets.
Collaboration with Law Enforcement and Exchanges
- The project has facilitated contact between Singaporean police and relevant crypto exchanges to ensure the security of the stolen assets as the investigation proceeds.
- Many of the stolen STX tokens have been traced to centralized exchanges, where they are currently frozen, pending the police investigations.
- Alex Lab has stated that it will make appropriate announcements as soon as the frozen funds can be returned to the affected users.
Market Impact
- The price of the Alex token traded down 3.2% over the past 24 hours at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko data.
The Alex Lab incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the cryptocurrency ecosystem in combating cyber threats from sophisticated groups like the Lazarus Group. The project’s collaboration with authorities and exchanges to secure the stolen assets and recover the losses demonstrates the industry’s efforts to address such security breaches effectively.
