In a significant breach over the weekend, hackers stole over $290 million in cryptocurrency from Kelp DAO, marking it as the largest theft in the crypto space this year. The incident follows a previous hack in April at the Drift exchange, which resulted in losses of around $285 million.
By Monday, LayerZero, a project impacted by the breach, attributed the attack to North Korean hackers, specifically identifying the group known as TraderTraitor. The hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Kelp DAO’s security configuration, allowing them to execute fraudulent transactions without multiple verifications.
Kelp DAO has since countered LayerZero's claims, suggesting that the blame should not rest solely on its infrastructure. This incident highlights the ongoing threat posed by North Korean cybercriminals, who have reportedly stolen over $2 billion in cryptocurrency in the past year alone, contributing to an estimated total of $6 billion taken since 2017.