Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget disclosed today that suspected North Korean hackers have stolen $351.6 million from its hot and warm wallets.
The company discovered the breach Thursday evening after its security systems flagged multiple unauthorized transfers from a limited number of crypto wallets.
Bitget has temporarily suspended all withdrawals while investigating the incident with help from law enforcement agencies, on-chain security institutions, and cybersecurity experts at Mandiant and SlowMist.
It also said its self-custodial Bitget Wallet was not affected, as it operates on infrastructure independent of Bitget Exchange and was not impacted by the attack, and added that the User Protection Fund (which holds 5,500 BTC currently worth about $464 million) will cover all losses.
"Based on our current assessment, approximately $351.6 million in assets were affected. Bitget’s cold wallets and the overwhelming majority of platform assets remain secure and unaffected," it said.
"The incident falls within the coverage of Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which currently holds more than $464 million. Customer account balances remain accurate, and deposits and trading continue to operate normally."
The company has yet to share more information on how the attackers accessed its key backend wallet-service system to forge transfer information and trigger the authorization-signing process.