CoinEx hack – compromised private keys led to $70M theft

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has revealed that compromised private keys allowed hackers to steal over $70 million of tokens, while the team looks to open lines of communication to claw back funds.

CoinEx representatives unpacked the finer details of their continuing investigation to Cointelegraph as the team works to build and deploy a new wallet architecture to restore impacted users and functionality of the platform.

Despite an estimated $70 million worth of cryptocurrency being stolen from the platform, the exchange claims this amount represents a small percentage of its total assets under management. CoinEx stated that affected users will be compensated entirely for any lost funds.

2/ We’ve finalized our strategy to resume withdrawals and are set to progressively resume these services within 7 working days. Ensuring 100% asset security remains our top priority before reactivating withdrawal functionalities.

— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) September 18, 2023

CoinEx said that it was still investigating the identity of those responsible for the security breach, which handful of blockchain security firms are attributing to to North Korean “Lazarus Group” hackers.

“Additionally, we have opened communication channels to the hackers in hopes of proactive engagement toward a mutually agreeable resolution.”

The exchange explained that a preliminary investigation pinned the root cause to a compromised private key for its hot wallets. These were used to store exchange assets for carrying out deposits and withdrawals.

Related: New York bans CoinEx exchange, seizes $1.7M in crypto assets

CoinEx suspended its withdrawal service to avoid further losses, patched system vulnerabilities and transferred remaining assets from the affected hot wallets. The exchange told Cointelegraph that it expects to resume withdrawals progressively within 7 working days.

“Our team is currently focused on building and deploying an entirely new and robust wallet system to…