Huobi Global Recovers Stolen Funds Through Negotiation with Hacker
Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange, has successfully recovered millions of dollars in stolen funds from a hacker who had absconded with them in September. The recovery was made possible through negotiations and an agreement between the exchange and the attacker. Justin Sun, an investor and HTX adviser at Huobi Global, announced on Twitter that $8 million worth of stolen Ether (ETH) had been returned. Sun also mentioned that the hacker had made the right decision by accepting HTX’s offer.
In a post, Sun confirmed that all the funds had been returned as promised and that the hacker had received a white hat bonus of 250 ETH. He emphasized that ensuring full security for user assets was always their primary goal.
The Hack and HTX’s Response
HTX first reported the hack on September 25 when one of their hot wallets was compromised, resulting in the theft of 5,000 ETH. At the time, Sun assured customers that it was a relatively small sum compared to HTX’s $3 billion in assets. HTX offered a white-hat reward of 5% of the stolen ETH to incentivize the hacker to return the funds but warned that law enforcement would be involved if the offer was not accepted within a week.
Negotiating with Hackers for Stolen Funds
Crypto firms have sometimes found themselves negotiating directly with hackers to retrieve stolen funds instead of involving law enforcement agencies. In some cases, agreements have been reached where most of the funds are returned, and bounties are paid to hackers to resolve the matter.
Rise in Blockchain Hacks
Blockchain hacks have seen a significant increase in recent times. According to an Immunefi report from July, the second quarter of 2023 witnessed a 63% rise in blockchain hacks compared to the previous year. Most of these incidents occurred on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, resulting in a loss of $228 million across 79 incidents. In contrast, centralized exchanges like HTX only experienced two incidents and lost a reported $37 million.
Hot Take: Huobi Global Recovers Stolen Funds through Negotiation with Hacker
Huobi Global’s successful recovery of stolen funds through negotiation with the hacker highlights the challenges faced by crypto firms when dealing with security breaches. In this case, the exchange was able to reclaim the funds and even rewarded the hacker for their cooperation. While blockchain hacks continue to be a persistent risk, it is interesting to note that DeFi platforms have been targeted more frequently than centralized exchanges. This incident serves as a reminder for crypto companies to prioritize security measures and establish protocols for handling such situations.
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