After the numerous hacks in 2021, the crypto industry wished for a smoother 2022. However, 2022 began where 2021 left off, with Crypto.com becoming the first major exchange to be hacked this year. Crypto.com acknowledged the hack in the early hours of Monday.
Users Notice Suspicious Activity
The hack came to light after users began reporting issues with their accounts. With the problems refused to go away, users realized that their accounts were compromised after noticing their balances reported missing cryptocurrencies, with hackers taking all the funds from accounts in certain cases.
Several users also complained that they had been locked out of their accounts, with several prominent accounts like those of cryptocurrency enthusiast Ben Baller also affected. He tweeted out to Crypto.com stating,
“I messaged yah guys hours ago about my account having 4.28ETH stolen out of nowhere, and I’m also wondering how they got past the 2FA?”
Crypto.com Acknowledges Hack
Crypto.com took to Twitter in the early hours of Monday to acknowledge the hack and address the arising issues. The exchange announced that it was pausing withdrawals for all users as it investigated the attack. It also assured its users that all funds were safe.
“We have a small number of users reporting suspicious activity on their accounts. We will be pausing withdrawals shortly, as our team is investigating. All funds are safe.”
The tweet stressed that only a small number of users were affected by the hack, but users contended that claim, with a significant number of users taking to social media to report stolen funds and calling on the exchange to acknowledge and address the problem.
The Cause Of The Hack
Once the exchange acknowledged the hack, it promptly suspended all withdrawals, leaving users unable to process any withdrawals, while pending withdrawals were left in limbo, unable to complete. The suspension of withdrawals was done to prevent hackers from withdrawing any more cryptocurrencies than they already had.
The cause of the hack is speculated to be the fact that hackers managed to find a way to bypass 2FA security on Crypto.com. To address this issue, the exchange urged all of its users to reset their 2FA information and log out and log back into the exchange to regain access.
The exchange tweeted the following to its users,
“Earlier today, a small number of users experienced unauthorized activity in their accounts. All funds are safe. In an abundance of caution, security on all accounts is being enhanced, requiring users to: -Sign back into their App & Exchange accounts -Reset their 2FA.”
Details Remain Sketchy
The platform posted an update on its Twitter handle, stating that withdrawal services had been restored and that all user funds were safe. It also stressed that it would take some time to clear the backlog.
However, details regarding the attack were sketchy at best, with Crypto.com not providing any information about the attack or the amount of funds stolen from user wallets. It is also unclear how the hackers managed to bypass the platform’s 2FA authentication and whether they exploited a vulnerability on the platform.
A Tumultuous 12 Months
The Crypto.com hack becomes the latest in a series of high-profile hacks that have hit the crypto industry over the past year. Coinbase had reported that over 6000 user funds were compromised when hackers exploited a vulnerability in the SMS recovery process. PolyNetwork was compromised in August in a hack that saw $600 million stolen. According to security firm Immunefi, the crypto space lost $2.66 billion to hacks in 2021 alone, while some firms have put that figure north of $4 billion.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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