Venus Recovers $13.5 Million from Phishing Attack Victims

Venus Protocol successfully recovered $13.5M stolen by the Lazarus group through a sophisticated phishing attack, highlighting DeFi's resilience against cyber threats.

Written by Charles Ledoux

Translated on September 5, 2025 at 13:20 by Simon Dumoulin

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A Sophisticated Attack by Lazarus Group

Decentralized lending protocol Venus has achieved an impressive feat: recovering $13.5 million in cryptocurrency stolen by the North Korea-linked hacking group Lazarus. This operation demonstrates the resilience of the crypto ecosystem in the face of major threats.

https://t.co/V6NkLR3UTm
— Venus Protocol (@VenusProtocol) September 3, 2025

The perpetrators of this attack exploited a vulnerability in a malicious Zoom client to scam their victim and take over their account. This allowed them to borrow and withdraw millions in stablecoins and wrapped tokens in the user’s name.

Lightning-Fast Recovery Thanks to Venus Collaboration

Fortunately, Venus security partners quickly detected the suspicious activity. An emergency vote allowed them to liquidate the attacker’s wallet and recover the stolen funds in less than 12 hours. Companies including PeckShield, Binance, and SlowMist also contributed their expertise.

🚨 Venus Protocol foiled a $13.5M crypto theft in just 12 hours after a Lazarus Group phishing attack.
✅ Platform paused instantly
✅ Emergency governance forced liquidation
✅ Funds recovered to safe address
DeFi defense at its best. 🔒#Crypto #DeFi #VenusProtocol…
— Paul (@Altcoinpaul) September 4, 2025

This success demonstrates the crypto community’s ability to mobilize against significant challenges. It sends a clear message to groups like Lazarus: the ecosystem will defend itself and recover what is rightfully theirs, despite your attempts.

Beyond simple recovery, this incident illustrates the growing importance of security and monitoring in the decentralized finance universe. Protocols like Venus must continuously strengthen their defenses against increasingly sophisticated threats.

The Future for DeFi Protocols

This case highlights the need for DeFi projects to collaborate closely with security partners, establish proven emergency procedures, and educate users about phishing risks. Only a holistic approach will sustainably restore trust.

Despite these challenges, the crypto ecosystem has demonstrated its ability to come together and protect its users. Through constant innovation and security improvements, DeFi protocols like Venus will continue to thrive and gain investor confidence.

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Charles Ledoux

Charles Ledoux is a Bitcoin and blockchain technology specialist. A graduate of the Crypto Academy, he has been a Bitcoin miner for over a year. He has written numerous masterclasses to educate newcomers to the industry and has authored over 2,000 articles on cryptocurrency. Now, he aims to share his passion for crypto through his articles for InvestX.

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