Now, FBI Reaches Out To WazirX On Alleged Crypto Heist By North Korean Cyber Criminals

US intelligence agency Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly reached out to the homegrown cryptocurrency exchange WazirX to probe the nature of a cyberattack allegedly involving North Korean hackers and to assist with the ongoing investigation.

While the company did not reveal the identity of the attackers, cofounder Nischal Shetty told ET, “We’re convinced it could be North Korea’s Lazarus Group.”

Lazarus, alleged to be backed by the North Korean government, is known for carrying out some of the world’s largest crypto exchange attacks in the past.

Inc42 has reached out to the company for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“Global law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, want to future-proof their own cryptocurrency market from any such shocks, and their expertise will greatly benefit the company’s efforts as well,” a person close to WazirX told ET.

On July 18, WazirX experienced a major security breach, resulting in withdrawals of around $234.9 Mn during the early European hours.

Following this, the company also announced a prize of $23 Mn as a part of its bounty programme to recover the $230 Mn assets stolen during the attack.

Earlier, Inc42 reported that the attack likely originated from Liminal’s infrastructure, bypassing their final verification step, as evidenced by the use of 3 WazirX signatures and 1 Liminal signature.  

WazirX’s security breach affected one of its wallets, Safe Multisig, on the Ethereum network, leading to the loss of user funds.

“The attack of this magnitude and nature was unprecedented. No one has seen such a sophisticated attack ever on a centralised exchange,” Shetty said, adding, “It’s not a fly-by-night operator or hacker, it’s really a state actor who has carried out this attack with extreme sophistication. I am not justifying the situation, but if it could happen to us despite the industry best practices, it could happen to anyone.” 

The report further added that blockchain experts indicated the possible involvement of the cybercriminal group Lazarus in the attack.

Founded in 2017, WazirX is a bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy, sell, and trade digital assets, catering to both first-time investors and professional traders alike.

As per its website, the company claims to specialise in cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency exchange, blockchain technology, digital assets, Tron, Bitcoin wallet, P2P transactions, buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Tron, and Matic in India, crypto trading, investing, NFTs, Dogecoin, and Polygon.