- June 16, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
- Category:
According to blockchain analysis company Elliptic, approximately 5,500 cryptocurrency wallets have been impacted by the attack on Atomic Wallet, a noncustodial decentralized wallet. This exploit has resulted in users reporting complete losses on their cryptocurrency holdings. The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the crypto community since Atomic Wallet’s core concept relies on users taking full responsibility for securely storing their assets.
The losses stemming from the Atomic Wallet breach have now surpassed $100 million, as determined by Elliptic’s analysis. This staggering amount underscores the seriousness of the attack, which affected around 5,500 crypto wallets.
Despite the significant impact of the incident, Atomic Wallet has not yet provided any explanation regarding the underlying cause of these substantial losses. This has raised concerns among frustrated users, who eagerly await clarification and reassurance from the company. Additionally, as of the time of publication, the company’s most recent update on Twitter dates back to June 7.
Disgruntled Atomic Wallet users have taken to Twitter to express their frustration with the company’s handling of the situation. For example, a user named Ezra Carlson questioned Atomic Wallet, stating, “Why won’t AW give me a straightforward answer about why they didn’t warn me, knowing full well that they were being hacked, that it was not safe to use AW last week before I made a transfer to my wallet that was then hacked?” Another user named “Real Deal Crypto” criticized Atomic Wallet for its lack of updates, exclaiming, “Your last update was five days ago, seriously?!”
In a tweet on June 3, Atomic Wallet acknowledged accusations of compromised wallets but downplayed the damage, claiming that less than 1% of its user base was affected. However, the large amount of losses shows that a massive breach occurred.
Elliptic has linked the heist to the infamous Lazarus Group, believed to be responsible for stealing over $2 billion in cryptocurrency through various thefts. This disclosure marks the first time a significant crypto heist has been openly attributed to the Lazarus Group since their $100 million exploit of Horizon Bridge in June 2022.
In response to the heist, Elliptic has collaborated with international investigators and exchanges and mobilized its resources to recover the stolen assets. The firm’s efforts have reportedly led to the freezing of over $1 million worth of the stolen funds so far. However, Elliptic noted that “in response to the freezing of these funds, the thief has begun to change their behavior. In particular, they have turned to the Russia-based Garantex exchange to launder the stolen assets.”
This recent attack adds to a series of notable breaches, including the recent $7.5 million exploit of Jimbos Protocol and the malicious proposal that seized control of Tornado Cash’s governance in May. According to a Chainalysis report, it is estimated that crypto hackers made off with a staggering $3.8 billion in 2022, with a significant portion attributed to attacks associated with North Korea and a large number of exploits targeting decentralized finance protocols.
