Hackers have breached servers belonging to the Japanese crypto-currency exchange Zaif and have stolen 6.7 billion Yen, approximately $60 million USD. The attack took place during a two-hour period last week but was not discovered until this week. The exchange has been taken offline until the full details of the breach are discovered and any vulnerabilities fixed. This attack came in a relatively short period of time following statements by North Korea that Japan could face retaliation for diplomatic moves that it has made over the past several years. North Korea stated that it feels that Japan is taking a diplomatic stance which is adversarial to China, who has historically been a close ally of North Korea. This announcement’s timing, coupled with the Lazarus Group’s habit of targeting crypto-currency exchanges and Japanese entities means that it is a distinct possibility that evidence of a North Korean connection will be discovered during the investigation.
