Crypto investment firm and market maker DWF Labs may have been compromised in September 2022 by a North Korea-linked hacking group known as AppleJeus, according to blockchain security researcher Tanuki42. The alleged theft, which DWF has yet to publicly confirm, is estimated at more than $44 million, mostly in stablecoins USDC and USDT.
Tanuki42’s research, shared in a detailed thread on X on Tuesday, Nov. 4, suggests the breach began on September 22, 2022, when an Ethereum address drained funds over a several-hour period. Blockchain data attached to the thread shows withdrawals from multiple exchanges to the same address, indicating that private keys and personal details from exchange accounts were likely compromised.
“Despite the draining of funds lasting many hours (0:04:59 AM to 5:59:11 AM), seemingly no successful attempt was made to stop the drain or save funds,” Tanuki42’s post reads. “There was even one further draining transaction the following day, September 23 at 0:59:35 AM.”
The researcher added that the stolen funds may have been laundered through the bridging protocol Ren into Bitcoin, where they mostly remained inactive. However, some of the funds were recently sent to the Bitcoin mixer Mixero. The stolen assets were reportedly co-mingled with other AppleJeus-related thefts, including those of Deribit, Tower Capital, and Radiant, according to the on-chain investigation.
Well-known blockchain sleuth ZachXBT responded to Tanuki42’s thread, commenting, “DWF hiding a $44M hack? Cannot say I’m surprised.” Meanwhile, Tanuki42 credited ZachXBT for providing the attached visualization of the alleged exploit from blockchain investigation firm TRM Labs.
If accurate, the alleged DWF Labs hack represents a major unreported breach, raising questions about market transparency and investor risk. The incident also underscores how vulnerable even prominent firms remain in the evolving crypto landscape.
The Defiant has reached out to DWF Labs regarding the potential breach but has not yet received a response by press time. Most recently, DWF Labs led a $21 million Series B funding round for modular blockchain platform IOST, alongside Rollman Management, according to Traxcn data.
**Balancer Hack Puts Spotlight on Crypto Security**
The alleged compromise of DWF Labs came to light just a day after the high-profile Balancer theft, highlighting ongoing risks for both decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized firms.
Veteran decentralized exchange (DEX) Balancer v2 suffered a major hack resulting in the loss of over $128 million. The losses affected several networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Sonic, and Berachain.
Harry Donnelly, founder and CEO of Circuit, told The Defiant that Balancer’s breach is “a serious warning” for the DeFi sector. However, other experts noted that hacks remain an inherent risk for investors and institutions participating in the crypto space.
As these incidents reveal, cybersecurity continues to be a critical challenge for the crypto industry, emphasizing the need for robust security measures and greater transparency.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/dwf-labs-likely-exploited-for-44m-in-2022-hack-linked-to-north-korea-report/