Crypto Exchange Upbit Finishes Security Update in Response to 2019 Hack

Published at: Jan. 15, 2020

Strengthening its walls after a hack in late 2019, South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has finished a security upgrade for the wallets on its exchange platform, restoring functionality once again.

Upbit decided to update its defenses in response to an Ethereum (ETH) hack the exchange suffered in 2019, an Upbit representative confirmed to Cointelegraph in an email on Jan. 14, 2020, adding:

“It is part of our effort to increase Upbit’s overall security since the Ethereum theft incident last November. Immediately following the incident, we suspended deposit/withdrawal services and transferred all crypto-assets to cold wallets. Since then, we’ve been revamping the wallet system for all crypto-assets traded on Upbit. As of today, new wallet services for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and EOS are open.”

ETH deposits and withdrawals reopened on Jan. 13, 2020, according to a notice the exchange posted on its website on Jan. 10.

Hacked funds

Upbit suffered a significant hack in November 2019, totaling 342,000 ETH valued at approximately $50 million at the time, Cointelegraph reported.

After the hack, Ethereum’s blockchain showed thousands of ETH shifting to a different wallet address, a December brief revealed.

Updated Systems

Upbit’s recent upgrade partially deals with asset housing. “The new system allows for a much more dispersed storage of crypto-assets,” the Upbit representative said. “We also strengthened the security infrastructure for relevant personnel,” he added.

The exchange’s recent note announcing the reopening of its ETH wallets also urged users not to transfer ETH to former wallet addresses, and that they should delete any old addresses, as well as generate new ETH wallet addresses.

“With the security upgrade, we are implementing a completely new wallet system for all crypto-assets,” the Upbit representative told Cointelegraph. “As such, addresses under the previous system will be non-functional and new addresses need to be generated.”

Last year saw an unfortunate number of other cryptocurrency hacks, as Cointelegraph recently detailed in a separate article.

Tags
Ethereum
Altcoin
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Hacks
South Korea
Upbit
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