South Korea’s crypto karaoke platform hacked for over $11.5 million

Somesing, a blockchain-based social karaoke platform in South Korea, suffered an exploit on Saturday and lost 730 million of its native token SSX, which amounts to $11.58 million, according to its announcement.

The hacked amount included 504 million undistributed SSX tokens, which were planned for circulation by the end of 2025, and 226 million SSX that the Somesing foundation held and were already part of its current circulation, the notice said.

“It has been confirmed that the hacking incident is not related to any member of the SOMESING team, and it is assumed to have been conducted by the professional hacker(s) specializing in hacking virtual assets considering the methods,” Somesing noted.

The platform has reported to the National Police Agency for an investigation into the hacking incident and said it will alert Interpol. Somesing is also tracing the attacker with the help of local blockchain entity Klaytn Foundation and Interpol partner firm Uppsala Security. Somesing said it plans to freeze the assets and take legal action upon identifying the perpetrator.

Major South Korean crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone, have halted deposit and withdrawal of SSX at Somesing’s request, warning users of aggravated price volatility due to the security breach, according to their notices. The token is also listed on HTX and Gate.io, which have not posted such warnings.

Somesing, which runs on the Klaytn blockchain, incentivizes users to upload karaoke recordings by rewarding them with tokens. These rewards are funded by other users who donate tokens to their favorite karaoke singers. Singers receive 60% of the donated tokens, with 20% going to Somesing and the remainder allocated for copyright fees and community upkeep.

Somesing did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for further comment.

Cybersecurity remains a critical concern in the cryptocurrency industry, as seen in the $81.5 million hack on Klaytn-linked protocol Orbit Bridge earlier this month. Despite this incident, the total volume of crypto hacks in 2023 fell by over 50% compared to 2022.

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