Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has announced that its multisignature wallet has "experienced a security breach" leading to user fund loss and $230 million in withdrawals.
WazirX confirms security breach
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 19, 2024 14:44 IST
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has faced a massive security breach. The company announced in a post on X: “At WazirX, our commitment to transparency and community welfare is paramount. There was a cyber attack on one of our multisig wallets”. The crypto exchange has confirmed that the breach led to loss of user funds and $230 million in withdrawals. These stolen assets represent more than 45 per cent of the total reserves reported by the exchange in June 2024. WazirX has temporarily paused INR and crypto withdrawals on the platform. "We're aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident. To ensure the safety of your assets, INR and crypto withdrawals will be temporarily paused," the crypto exchange wrote in a separate post.
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A multisig (multi-signature) wallet in crypto exchanges requires multiple private keys to authorise a transaction, enhancing security. It prevents unauthorised access and ensures that funds can only be moved with approval from multiple parties, reducing the risk of theft and fraud.
The hacker is currently selling the stolen tokens, which include $100 million in Shiba Inu and $52 million in Ether, on the on-chain exchange Uniswap. WazirX has shared the affected wallet address: 0x27fD43BABfbe83a81d14665b1a6fB8030A60C9b4
“The cyber attack stemmed from a discrepancy between the data displayed on Liminal's interface and the transaction's actual contents. During the cyber attack, there was a mismatch between the information displayed on Liminal’s interface and what was actually signed. We suspect the payload was replaced to transfer wallet control to an attacker,” WazirX found in its investigation.
Liminal Custody has shared a statement with India Today Tech saying:
"Our preliminary investigations show that one of the self-custody multi-sig smart contract wallets created outside of the Liminal ecosystem has been compromised. We can confirm that Liminal’s platform is not breached and Liminal’s infrastructure, wallets and assets continue to remain safe". "It is also pertinent to note that all WazirX wallets created on the Liminal platform continue to remain secure and protected. Meanwhile, all the malicious transactions to the attacker’s addresses have occurred from outside of the Liminal platform. Adhering to our rigorous security protocols, the Liminal team is also readily assisting the WazirX team as they carry out their investigation," the statement adds.
The crypto exchange says it is investigating the matter further and is working on recovering the lost funds as soon as possible. “This is a force majeure event beyond our control, but we are leaving no stone unturned to locate and recover the funds. We have already blocked a few deposits and reached out to concerned wallets for recovery. We are in touch with the best resources to help us in this endeavour. While these are our findings from our preliminary investigation, we will keep you posted with further updates,” WazirX wrote in a post on X.
WazirX is a cryptocurrency exchange based in India. It allows users to buy, sell, and trade various cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. Launched in 2018, it provides a platform for spot trading, staking, and peer-to-peer transactions, and offers features like a native utility token (WRX) and integration with Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange.
Published By:
Nandini Yadav
Published On:
Jul 19, 2024
