In the latest development that has sent shockwaves through the crypto community, Wazirx, a popular cryptocurrency exchange in India, has fallen victim to a security breach, suffering over $230 million loss in user funds. Interestingly, this comes against the backdrop of the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox allegedly suffering a brute force attack on users’ accounts.
Consequently, this has been recorded as one of the largest crypto exchange thefts in 2024. Growing concerns and speculations have rocked social media about the level of security employed by exchange platforms and the ease at which perpetrators get access to user funds.
Cybersecurity Firm Calls Attention to Attack
The breach was first reported by Cyvers Alerts, a cybersecurity platform, on X (formerly Twitter). According to the report, a Wazirx Safe Multisig wallet on the Ethereum network was breached after several suspicious transactions were seen.
The security platform noted that approximately $234.9 million has been moved to another wallet address by the hacker. Intriguingly, every transaction was funded by Tornado Cash, a crypto privacy program used to cover transaction trails. The hacker did not stop there, he quickly started cashing out the stolen funds. Cyvers Alert reports that the intruder stole funds in Pepe (PEPE), Gala (GALA), and Tether (USDT) and has already swapped them to Ethereum (ETH).
According to reports from Lookonchain, a large blockchain transaction tracker, the hacker stole 5.4 trillion SHIB, valued at $102 million, 15,298 ETH, worth $52.5 million, 20.5 million MATIC, approximately $11.24 million, 640.27 billion SHIB, worth $7.6 million, 5.79 million USDT, and 135 million GALA, valued at $3.5 million among others.
Additionally, the tracker highlighted that the hacker had already sold 35 billion SHIB ($618k) and still had about 5.4 trillion SHIB ($95.45 million) in holding. Another on-chain sleuth, ZachXBT, reported on his Telegram page that the hacker still has about $4.7 million in FLOKI memecoin to sell.
Wazirx Releases Statement, Confirms Security Breach
Shortly after the report by several blockchain trackers, the Wazirx exchange finally put out a statement, confirming the incident on their X page. Wazirx acknowledged the multisig wallet breach and stressed that the team is working round the clock to investigate the issue.
Update: We're aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused. Thank you for your patience and understanding.…
— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) July 18, 2024
Additionally, the exchange has taken measures to prevent further theft by disabling INR and crypto withdrawals pending the problem resolution. Wazirx advised calm as they promise to keep their users updated with unfolding information.
The latest series of hacking attempts on exchanges and crypto theft highlights the growing need for improved security in the sector. Users are advised to be vigilant and take proactive measures by enabling an extra layer of protection, including 2FA, on their accounts to keep funds safe. Also, it is important to regularly check your account access and report any suspicious login attempts to customer services. Lastly, it is advisable to transfer most of your crypto assets to offline hardware wallets.
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