Summary:
- Huobi Global’s HTX crypto exchange suffered a significant security breach, resulting in the loss of $7.9 million in cryptocurrency assets.
- In an unusual twist, Huobi Global contacts the attacker, revealing their identity, and offers a “white-hat bonus” if the funds are returned.
- Huobi Global investor Justin Sun reassures users that their funds are safe and that the exchange has fully covered the losses incurred from the attack.
In a startling turn of events, Huobi Global’s HTX crypto exchange fell prey to a hacker attack on September 24, resulting in a significant loss of $7.9 million in cryptocurrency assets. This breach has sent ripples of concern throughout the cryptocurrency community, raising questions about the security measures in place across the industry.
The news came to light through a report from the blockchain analytics platform Cyvers, which promptly shed light on the severity of the incident. The breach took place when a known Huobi hot wallet executed a transaction sending 4,999 Ether, valued at approximately $7.9 million, to an address with no prior transaction history.
🚨Red Code🚨Yesterday, our ML-powered system detected a suspicious transaction involving @HuobiGlobal and @HTX_Global.
Despite our attempts to reach out, we received no response. An EOA received 5K $ETH $7.9M from @HuobiGlobal's hot wallet.🔍 This morning, we spotted… pic.twitter.com/3oqHhAVi8P
— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) September 25, 2023
An Unprecedented Offer: Huobi Global’s White Hat Bonus for the Attacker
However, what sets this breach apart is Huobi’s response to the attacker. A separate wallet linked to Huobi contacted the hacker in Chinese, making a surprising revelation. According to a translation, the message conveyed that the exchange had identified the attacker and offered them a unique proposition—a “white-hat bonus” of 5% of the drained funds, contingent on the attacker returning the remaining 95%.
The message further stipulated that this offer would remain open until October 2, 2023, allowing the attacker seven days to decide. If the funds were not returned by the deadline, Huobi Global would resort to judicial intervention.
Cyvers promptly reported the attack on September 25, underscoring the urgency of the situation. Interestingly, the wallet responsible for sending the message has been identified as a Huobi hot wallet by the blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence. This revelation raises questions about the security of the exchange’s internal systems.
Huobi Global investor Justin Sun confirmed the security breach on the morning of September 25, acknowledging the loss of 5,000 Ether (equivalent to $8 million USD) due to the hacker attack. However, Sun offered reassurance that user funds remained safe and affirmed that the exchange was back to normal operations. “HTX has fully covered the losses incurred from the attack and has successfully resolved all related issues,” he declared, aiming to restore investor confidence in the wake of the incident.
HTX @HTX_Global has suffered a loss of 5,000 #Eth ($8 million USD) due to a hacker attack. HTX has fully covered the losses incurred from the attack and has successfully resolved all related issues. All user assets are #SAFU and the platform is operating completely normally.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) September 25, 2023
This latest security breach adds to a string of cryptocurrency exchange hacks in 2023, with many attributed to the North Korean-affiliated Lazarus Group. This notorious group has reportedly amassed a staggering $40 million in Bitcoin through its various attacks throughout the year, raising concerns about the vulnerability of crypto platforms to such sophisticated threats.