Theft of $235 Million From Indian Exchange WazirX Sparks Security Concerns

Recently, blockchain security firm Cyvers Alert reported that the Indian exchange WazirX fell victim to a security breach, resulting in the loss of around $235 million. According to Cyvers Alert, multiple suspicious transactions took place involving WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet on the ETH network, with a total of $234.9 million being moved to a new address. It was noted that each transaction’s caller was funded by Tornado Cash.

The stolen assets from the security breach at WazirX included a significant amount of different cryptocurrencies. These assets included 5.43 trillion SHIB tokens valued at $102 million, 15,298 ETH valued at $52.5 million, 20.5 million MATIC valued at $11.24 million, 640.27 billion $PEPE valued at $7.6 million, as well as 5.79 million USDT and 135 million GALA both worth millions of dollars. The attacker was reported to be selling and converting these assets to ETH.

In response to the security breach, WazirX confirmed the incident, stating that one of its multisig wallets experienced a security breach resulting in the loss of an undisclosed sum. The platform assured its users that the team is actively investigating the incident and as a precautionary measure, both INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused to ensure the safety of assets.

Cyvers Alert suggested that the North Korea-backed hacker group Lazarus may be involved in the attack on WazirX. Deddy Lavid, the Co-founder & CEO of Cyvers Alert, pointed out that the use of Tornado Cash to fund the transactions is consistent with methods used in previous high-profile attacks. While it is too early to definitively link the incident to the Lazarus Group, the similarities are concerning. Lazarus Group has gained notoriety in recent years as one of the most notorious hacking groups targeting the crypto industry.

The security breach at WazirX highlights the continued vulnerability of cryptocurrency exchanges to cyber attacks. The theft of $235 million worth of assets raises serious concerns about the security measures in place at one of India’s largest crypto trading platforms. It is imperative for exchanges and platform operators to strengthen their security protocols to protect user funds and prevent such incidents in the future. The involvement of sophisticated hacker groups like Lazarus further underscores the need for heightened security measures in the crypto industry.