Oops! The Korean Prosecution Office suspects clicking on phishing websites, leading to the seizure of 70 billion Korean Won worth of stolen Bitcoin.

South Korea’s Gwangju Prosecutor’s Office is facing an embarrassing asset loss crisis. Several Korean media outlets reported this week that during routine inventory of criminally seized assets, they discovered that Bitcoin private keys stored on a USB had been tampered with. It is believed that approximately 70 billion KRW (about 48 million USD) worth of assets have been transferred out.

Single Operation and Phishing Sites as Vulnerabilities

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that a staff member involved in the inspection connected to a suspected fake phishing website, which may have exposed passwords or triggered malicious software, allowing attackers to obtain the private keys. This incident highlights the disparity between the scale of assets and protective capabilities.

An internal official discreetly told the media:

The incident occurred during routine checks, and details cannot be confirmed at this time.

Law Enforcement Asset Custody Alert

Basically, once stolen, recovering the assets is almost hopeless. The tech community questions why the Korean prosecutors did not adopt multi-signature wallets or layered approval processes. Experts point out that as long as offline devices are unlocked in an online environment, there is a risk of a single point of failure.

Currently, the Gwangju Prosecutor’s Office only states that an “investigation is ongoing,” with more details yet to be disclosed. However, if a loss of 70 billion KRW truly occurred, it could shake public confidence in official custody of crypto assets. As law enforcement agencies hold increasing amounts of virtual currencies, strengthening multi-signature setups, hardware isolation, and personnel training will become unavoidable governance issues in the new normal.

Personal Asset Security Tips

This incident once again proves that in the world of cryptocurrencies, the strongest adversary is often not the hacker’s skill but human negligence.

Core Principle: Private Keys Never Touch the Internet

Reject digital backups: absolutely do not screenshot, photograph private keys, or store seed phrases in notes, cloud drives, or emails.

Use hardware wallets: choose cold wallets like Ledger or Trezor. These devices store private keys within encrypted chips, and even when connected to a computer, the private keys do not leave the device.

Detect Phishing Traps: Strict Operational Environment Management

Dedicated devices: computers handling large assets should remain clean, with no cracked software installed, no browsing suspicious websites, and even no social media logins.

Reject unknown links: any email, SMS, or pop-up asking you to “re-verify your private key” or “update your wallet” is 100% a scam.

Regular “Drills” and Checks

Verify backups: regularly check if physical seed phrases are clearly readable (it is recommended to engrave them on stainless steel to prevent fire damage).

Small test transfers: before transferring large amounts, perform a tiny test transaction to confirm the address is correct and the process is smooth.