Indonesia-based centralized exchange platform, Indodax, reportedly suffered a hack attack. The system has lost over $22 million worth of tokens. They comprised various tokens such as USDT, ETH, BTC, MATIC, and ARB. Although the hack mechanism is yet to be identified, it is certain that the hacker converted the tokens to native digital currencies.
USDT worth $6.14 million was drained, followed by $2.48 million worth of ETH tokens. BTC and MATIC were valued at $1.41 million and $849k, respectively.
The exchange platform took note of the attack on time and halted operations, citing maintenance reasons. During this period, potentially compromised social media activities continued to occur. They included suspicious giveaways, suggesting that there was also a security breach. Indodax confirmed the attack on Tuesday. It later began receiving complaints from users about not being able to view their wallet balances.
Security researchers on X highlighted the theft of nearly $20 million from hot wallets.
It was only on Monday that the platform recorded a trading volume of $11 million. The stolen amount was comparatively small, as the platform holds more than $400 million worth of different tokens. For now, suffice it to say, any promo or giveaway promotion that users come across could be run by malicious actors. More details about the hacking mechanism are awaited.
The hack has come at a time when the crypto market is struggling to make gains. Also, it is in the process of gaining worldwide recognition. There have been several criticisms directed towards the adoption of crypto and the platforms that facilitate transaction handling. Hacks like these rather make it convenient for that side to make significant gains. Thereby, not letting crypto and its associated products and services ever make it big in the world.
Another notable hack is the DeFi Protocol Penpie. It was recently hacked for $27 million worth of crypto assets. Users ended up losing $2 billion, but this does not just pertain to Penpie’s exploitation; it goes on to cover the entire market through 2023. This says two things. One, it is common for hacks to happen in the crypto world. Two, the size frequently runs in millions, and it is often the users who suffer.
As for Penpie, some analysts have urged that funds be withdrawn as soon as possible. The protocol has expressed a commitment to closely communicate with relevant team members and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
It now remains to be seen how the market will respond when Indodax recovers from the recent breach. Given that Indodax’s social media accounts seem to have been compromised, what measures will it take to declare that it has recovered and is operational?
The crypto market remains in the dark, with the likes of BTC and ETH attempting to rebound to a new ATH. Year-end continues to hold optimistic projections.
