On Sunday, the 5th of December, 2021, an unfortunate event of hack attack took place victimizing a crypto firm called “Bitmart”. The hackers managed to breach Bitmart’s security and stole approximately US$ 200 Million crypto funds. As per Bitmart, the crypto exchange told that the hackers obtained access to the exchange’s hot wallets.
However, a day before the hack attack, a blockchain security company namely “Peckshield”, supplied intelligence information. The company claimed that hackers were gearing up and their target is hot wallets with the top exchanges. The company then passed on the information to crypto exchanges and published it on social media.
It was further told by Bitmart that the hot wallets which became exposed to hackers consisted of Ethereum and native token funds. According to Bitmart’s estimation, however, the hackers stole not more than US$ 150 Million crypto funds. This figure of Bitmart is in contravention with the initial investigation carried out by Peckshield. According to Peckshield’s estimation, the stolen loss was more than US$ 200 Million. The intelligence company also believes that the loss could be more than what has been assessed initially.
Other stolen cryptocurrencies during the hack attack were Shiba Inu, MANA, SAND, and Safemoon, etc.
Bitmart was however quick in admitting the fact that its exchange was attacked by hackers. It is said that Bitmart is one of the major crypto exchanges of the world. Crypto funds available with the firm can be easily valued in multi-billion dollars. However, although it regrets the event, yet it is also pleased that the hackers were stopped from causing mega stealing. The firm said that under the company’s policies, customers are advised not to keep too many crypto funds in hot wallets. Because hot wallets are vulnerable to risks, therefore, the chances of them being hacked are higher against cold and normal wallets.
It was furthermore informed by Bitmart that the other wallets of Bitmart were all safe. Hackers could not succeed in breaching their securities. The firm also said that at present the firm is reviewing its security protocols. It confirmed also that it shall keep the world updated about the progress.
On the other hand, hackers proved to be smarter than the victim. After stealing the funds, they made sure that they transfer the funds as quickly as possible. Their plan was to convert the stolen funds into one single cryptocurrency. Investigation of Peckshield suggested that the stolen funds were then converted into Ether coins through 1inc. Later the funds were remitted through using Tornado.cash which provides a shield against tracking the transactions.
For the time being, Bitmart has suspended withdrawals till the time when the initial investigation is not finalized and security is reviewed.
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