Crypto Hack: Indonesia’s Indodax Goes Offline After Suspected $22M Breach

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As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, I find myself both alarmed and amused by the latest incident involving Indodax. It seems that the hacking saga continues unabated in 2024, with another significant player falling prey to digital bandits.

The Indonesian cryptocurrency platform Indodax has recently suffered a hack, leading to an estimated loss of around $22 million worth of digital assets.

Indodax Pauses Platform Operations Due To Security Breach

Based on a report by cybersecurity firm SlowMist published on X, thieves managed to pilfer various digital currencies including Bitcoin (BTC), several Ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens, Tron (TRX) and Tether (USDT) tokens from the Tron blockchain, Polygon (POL) coins, and Ethereum (ETH) from the Optimism network. The approximate value of the stolen assets is believed to be approximately $22 million.

Indodax acknowledged a security breach and temporarily halted all platform functions for “system upgrades”. They want their users to know that their cryptocurrency assets are secure, as stated by the exchange itself.

At present, I’m engaged in a thorough system overhaul to guarantee everything runs smoothly. As part of this procedure, the INDODAX web platform and app will be momentarily unavailable for use.

Established back in 2014, Indodax predominantly caters to the cryptocurrency market within Indonesia. Over the course of the last day, its cumulative trading volume has surpassed a total of approximately 11 million US dollars.

According to SlowMist’s examination, there’s no evidence of a hot wallet hack occurring. Instead, they suggest that the issue might have stemmed from Indodax’s withdrawal system potentially being breached. This alleged breach could have granted hackers access to the exchange’s hot wallet and allowed them to smoothly withdraw funds.

Likewise, a digital asset security company called Cyvers detected “several questionable transactions linked to wallets across various networks.” The wallet address believed to have instigated the hack appears to be exchanging different tokens for ETH. As yet, it’s unclear what the hacker will do next, but they often use cryptocurrency tumblers like Tornado Cash to make their crypto transactions harder to trace.

Data from CoinMarketCap indicates that Indodax has sufficient reserves to compensate for the lost funds. At press time, Indodax’s total financial reserves are worth $367 million, and the bulk of their funds are distributed among digital currencies such as BTC, ETH, PEPE, SHIB, and USDT. However, data from Arkham Intelligence estimates the total figure to be even higher, at $409 million.

Crypto Hack: Indonesia’s Indodax Goes Offline After Suspected $22M Breach

Cryptocurrency Hacks Surge In 2024

Yosi Hammer, Chief AI Officer at Cyvers, shared with BSCN that the traits and behavior seen in the Indodax hack seem strikingly similar to those exhibited by the infamous hacking group from North Korea, known as Lazarus.

People familiar with the world of cryptocurrencies are likely aware of Lazarus, an infamous hacking group that has carried out several significant cyber attacks in recent times. A recent example is the hack on Indian crypto exchange WazirX, which is believed to be orchestrated by Lazarus, leading to a staggering loss of approximately $234 million worth of user assets.

In my analysis, it’s clear that cybercriminals are matching strides with advancements in security within the cryptocurrency sector. Notably, the value of funds stolen has risen by a significant 15.5% compared to the same period in 2023. Despite this concerning trend, Bitcoin currently stands at $56,701, marking a minor decrease of 1% over the past day.

Crypto Hack: Indonesia’s Indodax Goes Offline After Suspected $22M Breach

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Charts from CoinMarketCap.com, TradingView.com

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2024-09-12 00:42