Crypto Exchange Upbit Targeted by Hackers 159K Over Times in H1

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has been targeted by hackers on more than 159,000 occasions in the first half of 2023, according to its operating firm.

The figures were reported by Dunamu — the firm that owns and operates Upbit — to South Korean Representative Park Seong-jung of the People Power Party, according to an Oct. 9 report by the South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency.

The report shows a 117% increase from the first half of 2022 and a whopping 1,800% increase from the first half of 2020.

Upbit is one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with a 24-hour trading volume of around $1.2 billion, according to CoinGecko. Other major exchanges include Bithumb, Coinone and Gopax.

To counter hacking attempts and strengthen security, Dunamu said Upbit increased the proportion of funds it holds in cold wallets to 70%. Upbit also upped its security measures for funds held in hot wallets.

Hot wallets tend to be hacked more often than cold wallets because their private keys are stored online, unlike the former, where the keys are stored offline on external hard drives and USBs.

Upbit suffered a $50 million exploit in 2019. But since then, Upbit hasn't suffered a single security breach, a Dunamu spokesperson told Yonhap.

However, Upbit had to halt Aptos token services in late September after the platform failed to recognize a fake token, "ClaimAPTGift.com," which reached 400,000 Aptos wallets.

(Source: CoinTelegraph)