- UK’s Lykke halts trading after $22 million cyber heist.
- Cyber sleuth SomaXBT uncovers unauthorized access; Lykke confirms breach.
- Lykke CEO reassures clients post-breach; investigation into stolen crypto underway.
In the wake of a cyber heist that reportedly siphoned off $22 million, the UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform Lykke has suspended its trading operations. This incident raises concerns about the effectiveness of security measures implemented by digital currency exchanges amidst the turmoil in the cryptocurrency industry.
The breach was discovered when prominent cyber sleuth SomaXBT detected unauthorized entries into Lykke’s system, prompting the company to acknowledge the breach. Crypto defense specialist and MetaMask developer Taylor Monahan has indicated that the breach resulted in dubious transactions totaling $22 million.
Ongoing Investigation
Interestingly, the breach transpired shortly after the exchange halted all trading on its platform due to initial indications of a security breach. Onchain data analysis revealed that the stolen assets included a significant quantity of Bitcoin
Hackers often disperse funds across multiple accounts to obscure the trail, and in this case, the pilfered Ether has converted into DAI stablecoin following the theft. Despite numerous user reports of depleted account balances, Lykke swiftly communicated that the platform was under maintenance and reassured customers about the safety of their assets.
Lykke’s CEO, Richard Olsen, also emailed clients to state that the company has identified and addressed the security issue and is taking all necessary measures to investigate the breach.
This is not the first instance of a crypto exchange falling victim to cybercriminals. The vulnerabilities of the cryptocurrency industry’s security were underscored by a recent announcement from DMM Bitcoin, another crypto exchange, which reported a hack leading to a staggering loss of $320 million.
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