EtherDelta hack: Cryptocurrency exchange hijacked by hackers, over $200,000 worth of Ethereum stolen
The cryptocurrency exchange confirmed that hackers hijacked the site's DNS server.
Another day, another crypto hack, and this time the popular cryptocurrency exchange EtherDelta was hit by hackers. EtherDelta is reportedly listed in the top 75 trading platforms in the world and has an approximate volume of $11m (£8.21m) per day.
On Wednesday (20 December), the firm tweeted a warning to its customers, requesting them not to use the site as they believed it was compromised by hackers. EtherDelta later confirmed that hackers had hijacked its site's DNS server.
"We have reason to believe that there had been malicious attacks that temporarily gained access to @etherdelta DNS server. We are investigating this issue right now - in the meantime please *DONOT* use the current site," the firm wrote in the post.
EtherDelta reportedly briefly suspended its service while it was investigating the hack. Although the site is back up now, it appears the hackers that mounted the attack were successful in making away with over $200,000 worth of Ethereum. The hackers were able to spoof EtherDelta's site, which redirected customers to a fake phishing site. Those who unknowingly visited the phishing site, inadvertently sent their tokens to the attackers.
HackRead reported that the hackers managed to steal at least 308ETH tokens, which at the time of writing amounted to a nearly $240,000. EtherDelta however, is yet to either confirm or deny whether hackers were able to successfully steal customers' funds.
1/2 *IMPORTANT* we have reason to believe that there had been malicious attacks that temporarily gained access to @etherdelta DNS server. We are investigating this issue right now - in the meantime please *DONOT* use the current site.
— EtherDelta (@etherdelta) December 20, 2017
âš ï¸Â 2/2 *BE AWARE* The imposer's app has no CHAT button on the navigation bar nor the offical Twitter Feed on the bottom right. It is also populated with a fake order book.
— EtherDelta (@etherdelta) December 20, 2017
The hack closely follows the attack against South Korean cryptocurrency exchange YouBit, which was forced to shut down and file for bankruptcy, after being hit by hackers for the second time in eight months.
2/2 *IMPORTANT* Please note if you were using @metamask_io or hardware wallet on EtherDelta, your funds are completely *SAFE* from the phishing attack.
— EtherDelta (@etherdelta) December 21, 2017
*IMPORTANT* Also note deposits can only be accessed through user's individual private key via the EtherDelta contract. If you had *NEVER* imported your key on the imposer's phishing site, your deposit should be safe.
— EtherDelta (@etherdelta) December 21, 2017
Experts believe that the escalating price of Bitcoin and by extension other cryptocurrencies has led to cybercriminals' increased interest in digital currencies. If the current trend continues, we may likely see more such cryptocurrency hacks next year, experts warned.
