Posted on January 10, 2022 at 7:51 PM
LCX Exchange Suspends Withdrawals After Losing $6.8 Million From Hacking Incident
We are only a few days into 2022 and it seems cryptocurrency hackers have continued where they stopped in 2021. After the Tinyman’s hack on January 5, Liechtenstein-based crypto exchange LCX AG has become the latest to suffer a hacking incident this year.
According to the report, the crypto exchange suffered a loss of $6.8 million worth of Ethereum tokens as a result of the hacking incident. The threat actors moved Ethereum tokens to their ETH wallet: 0x165402279f2c081c54b00f0e08812F3fd4560a05.
LCX has started notifying users on Twitter about the hacking incident and the infiltration of its hot wallet. The exchange has also assured users that the appropriate security measures have been taken to protect wallets and other assets.
Shortly after the incident was confirmed, the token hit a record low of $0.123. However, it has risen by 15% following assurances of protection of funds by LCX Exchange.
However, the firm has suspended deposits and withdrawals on the platform to prevent any more incidents.
The hacking incident occurred by 5 AM on January 9. LCX AG operates a regulated crypto exchange, a token sales platform, and a decentralized exchange aggregator.
LCX also asked the customers to remain calm and assured them that their funds will be protected. “We appreciate the support of our customers, exchanges, security experts, and the broader crypto community,” the exchange added.
Increasing Attacks On Crypto Exchanges
Hot wallet hacks are increasingly becoming more common within the crypto industry. In December last year, crypto exchange Bitmart lost $196 million after two hot wallets were hacked. Although the exchange has promised a refund, the affected customers are growing increasingly impatient. In another hacking incident, AscendEX was forced to disable deposits on its platform after hackers withdrew $77 million worth of Polygon, BSC, and ERC tokens from its hot wallet on December 11, 2021.
Japanese crypto exchange Liquid Global was also a victim of a hacking incident in August 2021. The exchange suspended all deposits and withdrawals and moved all assets to cold storage wallets.
In the attack on Bitmart, the exchange could not confirm who was responsible for the hacking incident, but they noted that the perpetrators are sophisticated. The funds were sent to an Ethereum mixing service that makes it even harder to trace and retrieve.
The $600 million hacks of the Polygon network last year is another example of how vulnerable some networks can be and how smart threat actors have become. Luckily for Polygon, the funds were returned and the users did not have to suffer financial loss.
The threat actors claimed they were contributing to Poly’s security, although it may have been an attempt to avoid being identified and prosecuted. Investigation into the hacking incident showed that security researchers have some evidence that could lead them to those responsible for the attack.
While the funds were later returned, it’s still an indication that threat actors are becoming more sophisticated in their activities. As a result, organizations also need to use tougher security measures to combat the various threats coming from these online criminals.
Companies Have Been Advised To Prioritize Platform Security
Crypto exchanges are at more risk of being hacked because they are always online and more exposed to threat actors. But cold wallets are safer options because they are always offline and come in form of USB sticks. Crypto exchanges and other cryptocurrency custodians have been advised to keep most of their holdings in cold wallets to keep users’ funds safe ad protected from hackers.
LCX is issued by LCX AG based on the laws and regulations in Liechtenstein. The company is classified as a utility token in Liechtenstein, Singapore, and the U.S. The LCX token is a long-term sustainable incentive used as a motivation for stakeholders to take part in the ecosystem.
It is a safe digital currency for transactions, including transferring, buying, selling, and storage. Apart from the basic role of the token, the company also offers asset tokenization, as well as utility and security tokes
LCX exchange was launched in 2018 and has operational offices in New Delhi, Crypto-Valley Zug (Switzerland), and Vaduz (Liechtenstein). In 2020, LCX received regulatory approval from the Financial Market Authority (FMA) for eight blockchain-based registrations.
With the increasing level of attacks, companies and developers have been advised to place more emphasis on regulation and security. Billions of dollars are now lost to hacks every year, and the cases will continue if companies do not improve on their security systems, according to security researchers.
