WazirX reports $230M hack to police and cyber unit, implements recovery efforts

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WazirX has filed a police complaint and is pursuing additional legal actions in response to a recent cyberattack that resulted in over $230 million loss, said the exchange in a Friday statement. Its immediate plans include “tracing the stolen funds, recovering customer assets, and conducting a deeper analysis of the cyberattack.”

WazirX has reported the incident to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-India) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN). The firm has also cooperated with over 500 exchanges to block the involved addresses.

“Many exchanges are cooperating with us, and we are actively working with them on additional resources to aid our recovery efforts,” the WazirX team stated.

WazirX is actively working with forensic experts and law enforcement agencies to identify the attackers and is focusing on fund recovery and forensic analysis post-hack, the firm noted.

On Thursday, WazirX said it was hit by a cyberattack, resulting in the theft of over $230 million from one of its multisig wallets. The hack prompted the exchange to halt all INR and crypto withdrawals as a precautionary measure.

The firm stated that the attackers exploited a discrepancy between the data displayed on the wallet interface and the actual transaction details, which allowed them to siphon off the funds.

Following the attack, Shiba Inu’s SHIB token plummeted by 8%. At the time, the attackers’ wallet held around $100 million worth of SHIB; they swapped several altcoins for Ethereum (ETH).

The wallet currently holds 43,800 ETH, valued at around $153 million, Arkham Intelligence’s data shows.

According to blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, the cyberattack on WazirX was potentially linked to North Korean hackers.

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