WazirX reports $230m hack to police, cyber unit to implement recovery efforts
Key receivers
Wazir X cooperated with the relevant authorities to track down the attackers following the $230 million hack. The exchange is working with the help of other exchanges to recover the stolen funds.
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Wazirx has filed a police complaint in response to a recent cyber attack that cost it more than $230 million and is pursuing further legal action, the exchange said in a statement on Friday. His immediate plans include “tracking stolen funds, recovering client assets and conducting in-depth analysis of cyberattacks.”
WazirX reported the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-India) and the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-IN). The organization has partnered with more than 500 exchanges to block the addresses involved.
“Many exchanges are cooperating with us, and we are actively working on additional resources to aid our recovery efforts,” the WazirX team said.
WazirX is actively working with forensic experts and law enforcement agencies to identify the attackers and is focusing on post-hack fund recovery and forensic analysis, the company said.
On Thursday, WazirX said it was hit by a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of more than $230 million from a multi-sig wallet. The hack prompted the exchange to halt all INR and crypto withdrawals as a precaution.
The company said it allowed the attackers to withdraw funds by exploiting the discrepancy between the information displayed on the wallet interface and actual transaction details.
Following the attack, Shiba Inu's SHIB token fell by 8%. At the time, the bag of the attackers was estimated at 100 million dollars SHIB; You have exchanged many altcoins for Ethereum (ETH).
The wallet currently holds 43,800 ETH, worth around $153 million, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
According to Blockchain Analytics Elliptical, the cyber attack on WazirX may have been linked to North Korean hackers.
Wake up call for crypto regulation in India
The WazirX hack exposed a loophole in India's crypto regulation, said Joanna Cheng, Associate General Counsel at FireBlocks. Cheng called for clear guidelines on safety standards, risk management and consumer protection.
“As yet there is no crypto-specific regulation in India, and the industry would benefit from clear regulatory requirements on issues such as security standards, risk management and consumer protection. Regulatory intervention in this space would mean that exchanges serving a large number of retail clients would be forced to do so ( or their actions) will be held accountable, Cheng told Crypto Briefing.
Commenting on Wazir X's comments that the event was a “force majeure event,” Cheng pointed out that for the force majeure clause to be effective, the event here must be a truly unexpected and unavoidable cyber attack. A clause may not apply if it is established that WazirX could reasonably have prevented or mitigated the attack.
“In Wazirx's case, the use of the force majeure clause allows the exchange to stop the withdrawal. However, the clause cannot be lifted if it is proven that the event is truly foreseeable and can be avoided or mitigated by reasonable measures,” Cheng pointed out.
He added, “We believe that this event highlights the importance of regulatory transparency and control, which is to establish a basic level of accountability and investor protection.”
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