Upbit suffers 159,061 hacking attempts in first half of 2020

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Upbit suffers 159,061 hacking attempts in first half of 2020

In the first half of this year, UPbit, a well-known South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, revealed it suffered 159,061 hacking attempts, according to data shared by the firm's operator, Dunamu, with South Korean politician Rep. Park Seong-jung.

The data shows a striking picture of increasing risks as hacking attempts skyrocketed from 8,356 in the latter half of 2020 to more than 159,000 in the first half of this year. In practical terms, this equates to an alarming 1,800% surge in attacks on UPbit over the past three years.

Number of cyber infringement attempts targeting UPbit, data from Dunamu.

According to Rep. Park Seong-jung, the emails were delivered to the office of Rep. Park Seung-jung.

The escalating number of cyberattack attempts demonstrates the danger of numerous cryptocurrency exchanges. The HTX exchange recently fell victim to a hack that caused a loss of approximately $8 million in Ethereum.

UPbit is a major South Korean cryptocurrency platform. In August, the platform outpaced rivals like Coinbase and OKX, which accounted for around 6% of trading volume.

However, UPbit is taking proactive steps to fortify its security infrastructure in response to the growing threat landscape.

The exchange plans to raise its cold wallet holdings to 70% by the end of the year. Cold wallets are known for their resilience against hacking, providing security against cyber threats. This move aims to enhance the safeguarding of upbit's assets, as hot wallets have historically been more vulnerable to hacking.

The new security measures for the hot wallet funds are being introduced by Upbit. The new hot wallets will now be operated within a multi-layered security system, adding another layer of protection to these assets.

The exchange has also released an artificial intelligence-backed Fraud Detection System that would help it prevent financial fraud.

Rep. Park Seong-jung acknowledges the increasing number of cyber attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, stressing that the government's role in managing these incidents remains unknown.

In response to this, Seong-jung urged the Ministry to conduct white mock hacking tests to assess the information security preparedness of businesses, including virtual asset exchanges that handle personal information.

This initiative aims to get a closer comprehension of the evolving information security landscape and ensure the protection of sensitive data.