Report reveals Russian Hackers May Be Responsible for $530 Million Cryptocurrency Hack

Report reveals Russian Hackers May Be Responsible for $530 Million Cryptocurrency Hack

It was previously believed that North Korean hackers were behind the January 2018 Coincheck hack, but recent developments in the investigation suggest that Russian actors may have been responsible.

A new report of the investigation into the $530 million hack that ruined Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck in January 2018 states that Russian, not North Korean, actors may have been behind the attack.

The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported that viruses that were thought to have been used in the hack were found on employees’ computers. According to the Asahi Shimbun, the viruses were linked to Russian hacker groups and named “Mokes” and “Netwire.” These viruses were most likely transferred via email, and allowed the hackers to gain access to private keys.

In addition, the viruses have previously appeared on Russian-based message boards with Mokes first appearing in June 2011 and Netwire appearing approximately 12 years ago.

In the January 2018 attack, Coincheck lost over $500 million worth of NEM tokens. The company was adamant that it wasn’t an inside job, even though at the time there was no suggestion of how the attacks had been able to gain access to the system without insider information.

Francis Gaffney, director of threat intelligence at Mimecast, said that as of January 2019, over $1 billion had been lost from cryptocurrency attacks.

“Coincheck is just the latest incident,” Gaffney said. “At the end of the day, cybercriminals are going to go directly where the money is via point-of-sale-focused attacks, like we’re seeing here and with ransomware.”

Gaffney said that these crypto-based attacks are particularly concerning for companies dealing with currencies, and other products that require a large amount of trust.

“Attacks on cryptocurrencies and their enabling exchanges are particularly troubling for systems like currencies, which rely heavily on trust for reliable means of exchange,” Gaffney said. “We see these crypto-based attacks begin with sophisticated phishing campaigns and malware droppers. From there, threat actors study their victims to identify their credentials and capture sensitive information.”

About the Author

Kaitlyn DeHaven is the Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • The Future is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reason. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. But as the number of cameras grows and resolutions push from HD to 4K and beyond, the cloud’s limits are becoming unavoidable. Bandwidth bottlenecks. Latency lags. Rising storage costs. These are not abstract concerns. Read Now

  • The Impact of Convergence Between IT and Physical Security

    For years, the worlds of physical security and information technology (IT) remained separate. While they shared common goals and interests, they often worked in silos. Read Now

  • Unlocking Trustworthy AI: Building Transparency in Security Governance

    In situations where AI supports important security tasks like leading investigations and detecting threats and anomalies, transparency is essential. When an incident occurs, investigators must trace the logic behind each automated response to confirm its validity or spot errors. Demanding interpretable AI turns opaque “black boxes” into accountable partners that enhance, rather than compromise, organizational defense. Read Now

  • Seeking Innovative Solutions

    Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. You may recognize these terms as the “5 Phases” of a grieving process, but they could easily describe the phases one goes through before adopting any new or emerging innovation or technology, especially in a highly risk-averse industry like security. However, the desire for convenience in all aspects of modern life is finally beginning to turn the tide from old school hardware as the go-to towards more user-friendly, yet still secure, door solutions. Read Now

  • Where AI Meets Human Judgment

    Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days. It is driving business growth, shaping consumer experiences, and showing up in places most of us never imagined just a few years ago. Read Now

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities