Tax Agency Press Release Leaks Wallet Mnemonic Key... “Signs of $4.8 Million Theft”

It has been confirmed that PRTG tokens worth about $4.8 million were stolen using a mnemonic phrase (a recovery phrase for a virtual-asset wallet) included in an image attached to a press release published by the National Tax Service.

According to Cho Jae-woo, an associate professor at Hansung University, on the 27th, a press-release photo related to the National Tax Service published the previous day exposed a mnemonic phrase along with a USB device storing virtual assets. Afterward, 4 million PRTG tokens were transferred from the wallet to an external address.

On-chain data show the asset transfer occurred about 10 hours ago and was worth roughly $4.8 million at prices at the time.

Earlier, on the 26th, the National Tax Service said in a press release about the activities of its special task force tracking high-value delinquent taxpayers that it had secured four USB devices containing virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) from a delinquent taxpayer’s residence. The released photo was reported to show the recovery phrase in an identifiable form alongside the USB devices.

A mnemonic is a wallet recovery phrase consisting of a combination of 12 to 24 words; anyone who knows it can access the assets in the wallet.

The actual owner of the assets, who is responsible for managing them, and how the theft occurred have not yet been confirmed.