According to a report by Techub News, citing the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo, a recent internal investigation by the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, South Korea, revealed that 22 bitcoins worth approximately $1.5 million had been transferred from a USB cold wallet. The bitcoins were handed over to the Gangnam Police Station in November 2021, but the outflow of funds went unnoticed due to a pause in the investigation. Although the USB device itself was not stolen, the bitcoins stored within it were successfully transferred. The Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency has launched an internal investigation to determine the specific circumstances of the outflow of funds and whether any internal personnel were involved. A representative of the agency declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation.
This data breach was discovered during a nationwide investigation by investigative agencies stemming from a recent incident at the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office where 320 seized Bitcoins were lost. According to local media reports, Gwangju investigators responsible for evidence management mistakenly accessed a phishing website, resulting in the loss of all the seized Bitcoins.
