Cyber Crime
WazirX Freezes Rs 24.75 crore in Stolen Assets Linked to Cyberattack
Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX announced on Friday, January 17, that it has successfully frozen approximately Rs 24.75 crore worth of USDT in stolen assets. The recovery marks a significant milestone in WazirX’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of a major cyberattack that occurred last year. This is the first tranche of recovered funds as the platform navigates its restructuring proceedings.
In a statement, WazirX revealed its collaboration with law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, and legal authorities to trace and retrieve stolen assets. Nischal Shetty, Founder of WazirX, expressed the company’s unwavering commitment to recovering the stolen funds. “This is just the beginning. We are fully committed to maximizing recoveries under a comprehensive scheme. We thank our users for their patience and support as we address this challenging situation together,” Shetty said.
Jason Kardachi, Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Restructuring Practice at Kroll, echoed the positive sentiment, stating, “Efforts to recover stolen assets are well underway, leveraging on-chain forensic work and legal actions against complicit third parties. The company is well-prepared to maximize recoveries for the benefit of creditors under the scheme.”
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The announcement comes in the wake of a joint statement by the United States, South Korea, and Japan, which attributed the cyberattack to North Korean hackers.
Background of the Cyberattack
In July last year, WazirX confirmed via a blog post that a sophisticated cyberattack had compromised one of its wallets, resulting in losses exceeding Rs 1,897.50 crore. The wallet, powered by Liminal’s digital asset custody and infrastructure since February 2023, was protected by six signatories—five from WazirX and one from Liminal. For any transaction, approvals were required from three WazirX team members using ledger hardware wallets and final confirmation from Liminal. Additionally, destination addresses were whitelisted to ensure funds could only be transferred to pre-approved addresses.
However, the attackers exploited a discrepancy between the data displayed on Liminal’s interface and the actual transaction details. Internal investigations revealed that the hackers altered the displayed information, gaining unauthorized control over the wallet.
WazirX remains steadfast in its recovery mission, ensuring robust security measures and taking all possible legal and forensic actions to protect its users and prevent future incidents.
