ShareStake.com, a popular crypto sports betting and casino gaming platform, recently fell victim to a cyberattack that resulted in the loss of over $40 million in cryptocurrency. Canadian rapper and keen sports bettor Drake is famous for dropping huge sums on the site but now the site itself is counting the cost of a loss.
User Funds Untouched
The attack was first made public by digital security company Cyvers Alerts via X (formerly known as Twitter), which revealed that the hack was due to a private key leak. The theft reportedly affected the platform's holdings, but user funds remained untouched. Stake.com temporarily disabled withdrawals after becoming aware of the attack but restored them a few hours later.
Stake.com founder and CEO Ed Craven assured users that their funds were safe and that the theft only affected a "small portion" of the platform's holdings. If $40 is small potatoes to these guys, we wonder just how much they’re sat on, particularly after their platform was banned from Twitch.
Security company Beosin estimated Stake’s losses at approximately $41.3 million. The cryptocurrency stolen came from Ethereum, Polygon, and Binance Smart Chain wallets. Bitcoin, Ripple and Litecoin wallets are said to be unaffected.
North Korea's Lazarus Group Accused
The American FBI has accused North Korea's Lazarus Group, a notorious state-led cyberterrorist organization, of the crime. The hackers have been linked to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and are believed to be responsible for a series of cybercrimes aimed at providing funds for the regime of Kim Jong Un, North Korea's leader.
This recent attack is just one of many cybercrimes attributed to the Lazarus Group, which has targeted various industries and sectors worldwide.
Alphapo, Coinspaid, and Atomic Wallet are said to have suffered combined losses of $200 million in attacks by Lazarus Group.
In April 2023, Ronin Network was attacked and lost an eye-watering $622 million. US authorities also blamed this attack on Lazarus Group.
In total, North Korean hackers are thought to be responsible for the theft of more than $2 billion since 2018.
