North Korea's Lazarus group suspected in $32.2M hack of South Korea's Upbit

The North Korean hacking organization Lazarus is the primary suspect in a 44.5 billion won ($32.2 million) cryptocurrency theft from the South Korean exchange Upbit that occurred on Nov. 27, Yonhap News reported. According to information and communications technology industry sources and government authorities on Nov. 28, South Korean officials are conducting an on-site inspection of Upbit while strongly considering Lazarus's involvement. The group is also the main suspect in a 2019 incident where 58 billion won worth of Ethereum was stolen from the same exchange. A government official stated that the attackers likely hijacked an administrator's account or impersonated an administrator to transfer the funds, rather than conducting a direct server attack. The official added that this is considered the most probable method, as it mirrors the technique used in the hack six years ago.