Hong Kong’s Crypto Firm Hit by Unprecedented $200 Million Cyber Heist

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Hong Kong-based Mixin
Network, a blockchain protocol aiming to tackle scalability challenges, has
fallen victim to a massive cyberattack resulting in losses nearing $200
million. The cyber heist, which is considered the largest of its kind this
year, has sent shockwaves through the crypto space, raising significant
concerns about the security of digital assets.</p><p>Mixin, which
facilitates transfer of digital assets, was compromised when hackers targeted
its network's cloud service provider. This attack resulted in a loss of
approximately $200 million worth of cryptocurrency. Mixin reported the breach
on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating that user withdrawals were
temporarily halted to contain the situation.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">[Announcement] In the early morning of September 23, 2023 Hong Kong time, the database of Mixin Network's cloud service provider was attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of some assets on the mainnet. We have contacted Google and blockchain security company <a href="https://twitter.com/SlowMist_Team?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SlowMist_Team</a>…</p>— Mixin Kernel (@MixinKernel) <a href="https://twitter.com/MixinKernel/status/1706139175018529139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2023</a></blockquote><p>Mixin’s Loss Shakes
Hong Kong's Crypto Sector</p><p>Based in Hong Kong,
Mixin has a user base of one million individuals who utilize its services for
swift and secure digital asset transfers. As of July, Mixin had a portfolio of
the top 100 assets with a combined value exceeding $1.1 billion. During that
same month, the network recorded an impressive 663,489 unique monthly Bitcoin
(BTC) transactions and 179,647 ether (ETH) transactions. </p><p>In addition, Mixin’s
security incidence, which occurred on September 23, is the most significant cyber theft of 2023, as reported by
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/b/blockchain/">blockchain</a> research firm Elliptic. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency exchange has
reassured its clients that asset transfers remain unaffected and has pledged to
reopen services once vulnerabilities are fully addressed. Mixin has also
promised to unveil a comprehensive solution for dealing with the lost assets.</p><p>Huobi’s HTX Faces
Security Breach</p><p>Meanwhile, Huobi’s
recently rebranded HTX exchange <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/huobi-globals-htx-hit-by-79-million-crypto-heist-offers-hacker-white-hat-deal/" target="_blank" rel="follow">was
recently compromised</a>. The communication confirmed the exchange's successful
identification of the assailant and presented a rather unusual proposition – if
the hacker were to return 95% of the stolen funds, they would be permitted to
retain 5% as a "white-hat bonus".</p><p>The incident began on
September 24 at 10:00 am UTC when the suspected Huobi hot wallet executed a
transfer, dispatching 4,999 Ether (equivalent to approximately $7.9 million) to
an address without any previous transaction history. This event triggered a
series of developments culminating in the exchange's unexpected offer to the
hacker.</p><p>July 2023 witnessing
an <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/crypto-hacks-and-exploits-peak-year-to-date-in-july-report/" target="_blank" rel="follow">unprecedented
surge in cyberattacks</a> and exploits that resulted in losses exceeding a
staggering $303 million, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Finance Magnates</a> reported. This figure, which marks the highest year-to-date total,
was disclosed by Certik, a security platform specializing in blockchain
technology.</p>

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.