Crypto.com exchange compromised, but CEO downplays severity

[Shawn Knight]

Editor's take: One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges has apparently suffered a security breach in which an estimated 4,600 Ethereum tokens valued at more than $14 million were stolen. That's no small amount of money, but things could have been much worse had the incident lasted longer.

One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges has apparently suffered a security breach in which an estimated 4,600 Ethereum tokens valued at more than $14 million were stolen.

Crypto.com on Twitter said a small number of users experienced unauthorized activity in their accounts. The exchange added that all funds are safe, but out of an abundance of caution, they are requiring everyone to sign back into their accounts and reset their two-factor authentication.

Blockchain security and data analytics company PeckShield said at least 4,600 ETH coins were stolen, noting that half of them were being washed via Tornado Cash, a mixing service that makes crypto harder to trace. PeckShield told Decrypt it believes the true scale of the hack is “definitely worse.”

Some thoughts from me on the last 24 hours:

- no customer funds were lost
- the downtime of withdrawal infra was ~14 hours
- our team has hardened the infrastructure in response to the incident

We will share a full post mortem after the internal investigation is completed.

— Kris | Crypto.com (@Kris_HK) January 18, 2022

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek chimed in hours later, reiterating that no customer funds were lost. He said downtime on the withdrawal system was around 14 hours, adding that his team has hardened the infrastructure in response to the incident.

Looking at feedback on Twitter, it seems Crypto.com resolved the matter for some but not all users.

Crypto.com has quickly become one of the most recognized names in cryptocurrency thanks to a heavy marketing push. In July 2021, the company partnered with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to become their fight kit branding partner. The exchange in November purchased the naming rights to the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It’ll be known as the Crypto.com Arena for the next 20 years.

Image credit: David McBee

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93033-cryptocom-exchange-compromised-but-ceo-downplays-severity.html

 

[VaRmeNsI]

I'd be withdrawing right now if I had $ there.

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

I'd be withdrawing right now if I had $ there.

I wouldn't nor I am . They have so many partnerships right now CRO is worth a lot more then when I bought in at .07.

 

[bviktor]

I wouldn't nor I am . They have so many partnerships right now CRO is worth a lot more then when I bought in at .07.

Yeah, that's not realized profit tho, just a number on your account page. Until you exchange and withdraw, that is. Then sometimes come the random "suspicious activity detected, account put on hold" sh*t. Not always, but sometimes. Never trust these shady companies. You have ZERO safety net. You're on your own.

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

Yeah, that's not realized profit tho, just a number on your account page. Until you exchange and withdraw, that is. Then sometimes come the random "suspicious activity detected, account put on hold" sh*t. Not always, but sometimes. Never trust these shady companies. You have ZERO safety net. You're on your own.

I hear you, but this isn't a shady company. They signed contracts with UFC, Arenas, NBA Teams, Visa and many more. I would agree if it was a shady exchange in another country or what not. But not one this big like FTX or anything.

 

[Eversong]

>PeckShield said at least 4,600 ETH coins were stolen, noting that half of them were being washed via Tornado Cash, a mixing service that makes crypto harder to trace

So, you can't prosecute them, because there's no paperwork to start with, 'technically' they trade bottled air in exchange for non-existant currency (I.e. without strong traceable link to the physical world that could back up the stake's value) and can cease to exist overnight.
Wonderful. Makes the entire worldwide digital piracy community look like harmless critters.

 

[DrSuess]

I'd be withdrawing right now if I had $ there.

Its been compromised, so someone is probably withdrawing even though they don't have any $ there.