A South Korean crypto-currency exchange has lost virtual coins with a reported value of $37m after a cyber-attack on the company.
Coinrail explained in a statement earlier today that the attack came at dawn on Sunday.
“At present, 70% of your coin rail total coin / token reserves have been confirmed to be safely stored and moved to a cold wallet and are in storage,” it claimed.
“Two-thirds of the coins confirmed to have been leaked are covered by freezing / recalling through consultation with each coach and related exchanges. The remaining one-third of coins are being investigated with investigators, relevant exchanges and coin developers.”
It’s unclear how many of the ‘stolen’ coins will ultimately be recovered by the exchange. However, it revealed that some of those ‘leaked’ include some of the less popular virtual currencies including Fundus X (NPXS), Aston (ATX), and Enper (NPER).
Coinrail said it is still working out “the exact damage” resulting from the attack. However, local reports suggest the figure is in the region of 40 billion won ($37m).
The firm is co-operating with investigators, although reports suggest the exchange was likely targeted because it did not impose the same high self-regulatory security standards that several counterparts in South Korea have implemented.
The attack has already had a major impact on the market, with the value of Bitcoin apparently falling over 10%.
It’s just the latest in a long line of crypto-currency exchanges targeted by hackers over the past few years.
Last year, South Korean exchange Bithumb was hit, with 30,000 users experiencing data theft and losses reaching $1m. Then in November, crypto-firm Tether lost $30m of tokens.
Ernst & Young warned in January that nearly $400m has been stolen from initial coin offerings (ICOs).
North Korean hackers have been particularly prolific, flagged by researchers as targeting virtual currencies to swell the coffers of the Kim Jong-un regime.