Gairika Mitra
Indian crypto exchange WazirX lost around $230 million in a security breach last month. This created a huge furore across social media leading the crypto trading platform to offer a $23 million bounty to get a hold of the stolen assets.
The Shib Daily reached out to Nischal Shetty, co-founder of WazirX, to gain an understanding of the current situation, their next plan of action, and what the future holds for them.
Read The Shib’s coverage of the WazirX hack
1. Can you tell us briefly the steps you are taking or have already taken, to address the loss suffered by investors?
We’ve rolled out a poll for our community to analyse their sentiment on our proposed recovery plans. We are taking cues from exchanges which have successfully managed to recover user funds in the past after similar incidents and how they approached their respective situations.
2. And what is the next plan of action? When do you plan to resume operations?
The next plan of action is to resume trading which was paused for a few days following the hack, as a security measure. Besides that, we are in the process of coordinating with law enforcement agencies, and third-party forensic experts to work on retrieving the funds and continue investigating the situation. In the next few days, we should be resuming our operations.
Background
The WazirX team filed a police complaint on Tuesday, and co-founder Nischal Shetty revealed on X that they had filed a police complaint on the next day of the cyberattack as well. “All we ask for is time so that we can work on the way forward,” his post mentioned.
3. The hack disproportionately affected SHIB holders. Do you have a message for them on how those losses would be made whole?
We have reached out to the SHIB team to aid us in compensating our users with any amount of tokens possible. We’ve also requested them to suggest ideas to us to help recover the losses for SHIB holders.
Background
Within a few hours of the security breach, Shiba Inu had plummeted to 7.3%, possibly because the hacker was selling off the stolen SHIB tokens.
4. You have blamed Liminal’s processes for the breach, while Liminal has said it is not responsible. Where does the buck stop?
We will be in a position to comment on this once the third-party audit is completed. We don’t want to play the blame game.
Background
Liminal is a digital asset custody platform which engages in providing secure and compliant storage solutions for cryptocurrencies.
WazirX blamed Liminal for the security breach owing to perceived vulnerabilities or lapses in Liminal’s custody and security protocols. The former likley believed that weaknesses in Liminal’s processes allowed the attackers to exploit and access the funds.
However, the latter denied responsibility for the breach, indicating a dispute over the actual cause of the security failure.
5. What is the big learning for you from this unfortunate breach?
Once we are done with the forensic analysis and have more input from law enforcement agencies, we will be able to share a comprehensive report on the findings and learnings from this cyber attack.
As of now, the WazirX team shared that the police have recognized the matter and registered an FIR under the BNS & IT Act on Monday at PS Special Cell, PS Lodhi Colony, New Delhi, India, through Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations, IFSO of Delhi Police.
“We have full faith in the investigating agency and shall cooperate with them to the fullest extent. We are actively working on recovering the stolen funds and are hopeful that those responsible will be brought to justice,” they said.
Read More
- India’s WazirX Exchange Breached, Hacker Siphons Off $230M in Crypto
- SHIB Plunges Following WazirX Attacker’s Selloff; Shib Army Remains Resilient
- WazirX Offers $23M Bounty to Recover $234M in Stolen Assets Following Major Hack
Gairika holds positions in BTC. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
