South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GDAC hacked; lost over $13 million

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GDAC fell victim to a hack on Sunday, losing over $13 million.

 

GDAC confirmed the hack in a statement, noting that the attackers stole approximately 61 BTC, 350.5 ETH, 10 million $WEMIX, and 220,000 USDT from the exchange. Hackers transferred the crypto assets from a hot wallet to an unidentified wallet. Approximately 23% of GDAC’s assets are now in the hands of hackers.

 

Cryptocurrency exchanges use hot wallets to store a portion of funds for immediate withdrawals and trading activities. Hot wallets, unlike cold wallets, are connected to the internet, which means that if a hot wallet is compromised, it can lead to significant financial losses for the users.

 

Shortly after the hack, GDAC took emergency measures and blocked the wallet network (deposit and withdrawal system and all related servers). GDAC declared it works with domestic and international crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms to freeze the stolen assets.

 

GDAC reported the incident to the local police, the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and is working to recover the funds. The WEMIX team quickly responded to the GDAC hack by saying it is closely monitoring the situation.