On July 18, 2024, WazirX, a top cryptocurrency exchange in India, announced a significant security breach resulting in the theft of approximately $230 million in cryptocurrencies.
This attack targeted their multi-signature wallet, leading to the loss of over 200 different tokens, including SHIB and ETH.
As investigations continue, preliminary reports suggest potential involvement of North Korean hackers, causing significant market reactions.
Dive into the comprehensive breakdown of this major cyber attack and its implications for the crypto world.
Contents
Cyber Attack on WazirX's Multi-Signature Wallet
On July 18, 2024, India's leading cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, announced that its multi-signature wallet managing their cryptocurrencies had been hacked, resulting in the theft of approximately $230 million worth of crypto assets.
A multi-signature wallet requires multiple signatures to authorize a transaction, offering greater security compared to standard wallets, which only require one signature.
The WazirX multi-signature wallet, operational since February 2023, uses Liminal's services and is managed by a total of six signatories: five from the WazirX team and one from Liminal.
Transactions from this wallet required approval from at least three WazirX signatories and final approval from the Liminal signatory.
However, during the cyber attack, discrepancies were noted between the data displayed on Liminal's interface and the actual transaction contents.
It is believed that the cyber attack led to the attackers gaining control of the wallet, and efforts are currently underway to recover the stolen cryptocurrencies.
Theft of Over 200 Tokens Including SHIB, ETH, and MATIC
The theft incident at WazirX is under independent investigation by several experts, with detailed reports on the stolen cryptocurrencies being provided.
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, more than 200 different cryptocurrencies were stolen in this incident. The major stolen cryptocurrencies and their estimated losses are reported as follows:
| Stolen Cryptocurrency | Estimated Loss |
|---|---|
| SHIB | ~$96.7 million |
| ETH | ~$52.6 million |
| MATIC | ~$1.1 million |
| PEPE | ~$7.6 million |
| USDT | ~$5.7 million |
| FLOKI | ~$4.7 million |
| Others | ~$56.7 million |
Many of the stolen cryptocurrencies from WazirX have already been converted to ETH through various decentralized finance (DeFi) services.
The price of SHIB, which experienced the largest loss, has fallen by over 8% in the past 24 hours, likely due to this theft incident.
As the investigation is ongoing, details about the perpetrators are still unclear. However, Elliptic has indicated the possible involvement of North Korean hackers.
-
Involvement of North Korea’s “Lazarus Group” in DMM Bitcoin’s Unauthorized Outflow Incident
Uncovering the DMM Bitcoin hacking incident, possibly involving North Korea’s Lazarus Group, with significant cryptocurrency laundering through Huione Guarantee.
続きを見る