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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A hacking attempt on Upbit triggered the unauthorized transfer of more than 100 billion Solana-based coins to external wallets in just 54 minutes, raising concerns about the scale of potential losses in virtual asset security breaches.
According to data submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the attack occurred between 4:42 a.m. and 5:36 a.m. on November 27, moving coins worth about 44.5 billion won. BONK accounted for 99% of the outflow.
Upbit detected the incident within 18 minutes and gradually suspended asset transfers, but did not report the breach to regulators until over six hours later, prompting criticism and speculation that disclosure was delayed due to a corporate event that morning.
Upbit says it absorbed all losses to protect users and reported the case once it confirmed it as a security breach.
However, authorities face limited options: current Korean law has no direct provisions to penalize or require compensation from virtual asset service providers in hacking incidents, leaving what lawmakers describe as a significant “regulatory vacuum.”
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
