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Cyvers had detected the suspicious transactions and attempted to contact WazirX 30 minutes prior to their public announcement, but received no reply.
In a startling incident, WazirX, one of India’s prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, has suffered a significant security breach, resulting in the theft of roughly $235 million. The hack was initially flagged by the Web 3.0 security firm Cyvers, which identified unusual activities involving WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet on the Ethereum network.
Details of the Breach
Cyvers alerted the community via Twitter, revealing that several transactions had transferred $234.9 million from WazirX’s Safe Multisig wallet to a new address. Cyvers had detected the suspicious transactions and attempted to contact WazirX 30 minutes prior to their public announcement, but received no reply.
These transactions were traced back to Tornado Cash, a decentralized platform known for its ability to facilitate private transactions on Ethereum. A portion of the stolen funds, including Tether (USDT), Pepe (PEPE), and Gala (GALA), have already been converted into Ether (ETH). This rapid conversion to ETH suggests an effort to obscure the transaction trail, complicating the recovery of the stolen funds.
🚨ALERT🚨Hey @WazirXIndia, Our system has detected multiple suspicious transactions involving your Safe Multisig wallet on the #ETH network.
A total of $234.9M of your funds have been moved to a new address. Each transaction's caller is funded by @TornadoCash.
The suspicious… pic.twitter.com/4sajAwd4Hb
— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) July 18, 2024
Further insights from crypto investigator ZachXBT on Telegram highlighted that the hacker’s primary address still contains over $104 million worth of digital assets. The stolen funds comprise approximately $100 million in Shiba Inu (SHIB), $52 million in ETH, and $11 million in Polygon (MATIC). Other significant holdings include $4.7 million in FLOKI, $3.2 million in Fantom (FTM), $2.8 million in Chainlink (LINK), and $2.3 million in Fetch.ai (FET), with numerous other tokens also affected.
WazirX’s Response
Following the discovery of the security breach, WazirX promptly communicated with its users, providing crucial updates and implementing immediate safety measures. In a series of tweets from their official account, WazirX acknowledged the breach of one of their multisig wallets and assured users that their team is actively investigating the incident.
📢 Update: 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. Thank you for your patience and understanding.…
— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) July 18, 2024
To protect users’ assets, WazirX has temporarily paused all INR and cryptocurrency withdrawals. The exchange emphasized that these measures are necessary to ensure the safety of funds while they work to resolve the issue. They expressed gratitude for the patience and understanding of their users during this challenging time and committed to providing ongoing updates as the situation develops.
In a subsequent update, WazirX revealed that they had identified two additional exploited smart contracts. The team is continuing its investigation to fully understand the extent of the breach. To further safeguard user assets, WazirX has launched a dedicated website where users can revoke all approvals. The exchange warned that user funds remain at risk until these approvals are revoked and encouraged users to take immediate action through the provided website.
