CoinsPaid, a digital asset payment company, has again fallen victim to hackers, the second time in just six months, leading to a loss of around $7.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The security attack, which resulted in the loss of various digital assets including 4.5 million USDT, 500 ETH, and 97 million CPD, was attributed to inadequate wallet security measures by blockchain security firm Cyvers.

The hackers managed to transform the ill-gotten assets into ETH and transferred them into externally owned Ethereum and BNB chain accounts. These funds were then channeled into centralised exchanges such as MEXC, ChangeNow, and WhiteBit. The identity of the attackers is currently unknown but Cyvers suggests it could be the infamous Lazarus Group who was allegedly linked to the last major breach of CoinsPaid in July 2023 that resulted in a $37.3 million loss.

The Lazarus Group, believed to be North Korea-backed, has a notorious reputation for cyberattacks on multiple cryptocurrency platforms, leading to massive losses. This notoriety is bolstered by several successful breakthroughs, such as the compromises of Ronin Bridge, Harmony Bridge, and Atomic Wallet, with losses running into the hundreds of millions.

As the new year begins, the cryptocurrency industry has been facing multiple security challenges, with major projects falling prey to breaches and hacks. Decentralised cross-chain protocol, Orbit Chain, started on a low note, enduring a loss of over $81 million because of hackers accessing seven out of its ten multisig signers. Similarly, Radiant Capital lost $4.5 million due to a smart contract hack on January 3. Exploiters also targeted Gamma in a price manipulation attack that cost them $4 million. These series of unfortunate events led to a total loss of nearly $100 million for cryptocurrency projects in just the first week of the new year.