Japanese Crypto Exchange Hacked : $59 Million Larceny

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Zaif suffered a major heist.
  • Hackers have managed to loot cryptocurrency worth $59 million.
  • Zaif exchange was under attack for 2 hours on September 14.
                                                                                                                                                                   

Zaif crypto-exchange is ranked 101st largest cryptocurrency exchange by CoinMarketCap.
                                                                                                                                                                   

The recent attack in the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has once again portrayed the industry's vulnerability despite many efforts by various authorities to enhance the security in cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Cryptocurrency theft - TECHOSlovia

According to a local report, Japanese cryptocurrency firm Tech Bureau Corp reported that 4.5 billion yen from the users hot wallets and 2.2 billion yen from the company assets were stolen by the hackers from its exchange. The total loss sums up to $59.7 million.

LEADING CAUSE

Tech Bureau reported that its Zaif exchange was hacked over a two-hour period on September 14. It identified server issues on September 17 which confirmed the hack and the same was notified to the authorities. In this theft, virtual currencies worth JPY 6.7 billion were stolen from the exchange's hot wallet. Experts have been constantly warning exchanges that hot wallets (directly connect to internet) are more vulnerable to theft than cold wallets (not connected to internet).

"We have no intention to curb (the crypto industry) excessively. We would like to see it grow under appropriate regulation."
                                                                                                    - Toshihide Endo, FSA commissioner 
                                                                                    @Thomson Reuters 2018

REPARATION

Acccording to Tech Bureau Inc, the firm Fisco Digital Asset Group will be helping Zaif to cover the lost customer assets by funding 5 billion yen ($44.5 million). Tech Bureau agreed with Fisco to sack more than half of its directors and corporate auditors. This will also ensure Fisco becoming a major shareholder in the company.

Related Article : Coincheck Bankrupt: $450 mn worth cryptocurrency hacked

Earlier this year, Zaif agreed to a "system glitch" which permitted its users to temporarily own trillions of dollars worth Bitcoin for free in February. Around sixteen customers were able to accidentally trade yen for cryptocurrency at the rate of 0 yen per coin.


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Navin N

@TECHOSlovia