Introduction
The crypto sector is right now experiencing some of it worst period when it comes to security. Each week, there is almost always a case of hacking where significant amounts of funds are lost to scammers. Just few days ago, another crypto asset management platform has been breached. The platform is Coinstats. The security breach which was caused by a hacking incident has resulted in the unauthorized access to 1,590 crypto wallets in that platform.
The platform recently published an update in their X profile about the state of events with regards to the incident. They are currently trying to manage the situation the best way they could. Below is what they just wrote:
The attack has been mitigated, and we have temporarily shut down the application to isolate the security incident. 1. None of the connected wallets and CEXes were impacted. 2. Thanks to the immediate incident reponse from the CoinStats team, only 1.3% of all CoinStats Wallets were affected, totaling 1,590 wallets. source
Investigations and what next for affected users
Coinstats is currently working hard to ascertain the extent of damage caused by the hacking incident. A lot is still unknown about it. For example, they are yet to know exactly how much funds have been stolen by the hackers. However, the team kept on making updates each step of the way.
For now, 1,590 wallets have been implicated in the attack. The team has created a Google sheet where the wallet addresses of all the affected accounts have been listed. Users are encouraged to check the document and determined if they are affected. Because the investigation is still on-going, the document contents will continue to change as more updates are added.
If any user is affected or their wallet listed in the document, they have been instructed to quickly move their funds to a different wallet to secure or savage whatever is remaining, pending the conclusion of the investigation. As mentioned above, the extent of damage done is yet to be completely known.
Coinstats users still need to stay uptodate with the team as they carry out the investigation. As late as 24 hours ago, some users whose wallet have not been listed as affected are still reporting stolen funds. For example, one X user with the handle
ArturJaro just reported below that their account has been affected:
My wallet isn't listed, but my eth and usdt were stolen yesterday. source
Although the platform announced that external wallets have not been affected by the breach, it does not seem to be the case. Some users reported that their external wallets have had funds stolen from them like the user below with X profile James West:
It did affect outside wallets. My Coinbase wallet was drained. source
In order to mitigate the damage, Coinstats have temporarily shutdown its website and directed affected users to their official X page to follow up on any updates released by the team.
What happens immediately after a breach?
Coinstats is not the first platform to experience this type of security incident in recent times. It is just the latest victim in a worryingly growing list of hacking incidents. Crypto users are worried and simply hopes that something could be done to reverse this ugly trend. Something more concerning is what happens after a breach like this one.
Panic often sets in when users realize what they have lost due to a breach like this. Sometimes in the ensuing frenzy, victics get scammed the more as they seek help. In this case of Coinstats, it seems that is already happening.
Lots of scammers would flood into the X profile of Coinstats and put up a sympathetic face. They would try to give the impression of trying to help victims recover from the loss. In eccence, they are trying to steal more. So if a user is affected by this or any other breach, they should beware of whom they interact with and links they click. Scammers that pose as part of the recovery team might send phishing links that if clicked, would result in further loss of funds. This is a trick that plays out every time a major platform experiences a hacking incident.
What to do post-breach
Every hacking incident creates an emergency for the affected victims. The wrong action or the right inaction might lead to further losses. So taking the right actions as at when due should be a good recommendation. Here are general tips that might prove helpful.
Move funds to a safe wallet: Just as Coinstats advised affected accounts, its best to move out any remaining funds to a safe wallet until the security incident has been entirely contained. Its best to do this especially if the team advices in that direction. The hackers might return to take away whatever is remaining. So savage the wreckage by sending funds away from the compromised wallet.
Interact with official channels only: Many scammers would appear and offer assistance. A lot of them would promise that all funds would be recovered by a specialist who helped them out while in a similar situation. Oftentimes, they are hackers trying to make a bade situation worse. So make sure to follow instructions only from official channels. And do not respond to everyone trying to help in the official channels comment section.
Stay up-to-date: It is important to always stay in the know. The team would be working round-the-clock to find out what happened and provide updates. The updates might require affected users to take some actions. So without getting these crucial updates, it might be hard to recover fully from the incident.
Finally
Hacking remains an unfortunate part of the crypto space and it does not look like going away soon. Try and stay safe and always do best practices when it comes to securing assets. Use strong passwords, 2FA and if possible, always use non-custodial wallets.
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Posted Using InLeo Alpha