The United Kingdom high court has ordered popular crypto-exchange Bitfinex to hold and freeze 96BTC (more than $890,000). After this, Bitfinex information can lead to the identity of the culprit of last year’s ransomware attack on a Canadian insurance firm and possibly help in the release of the stolen 96 BTC.
The attack affected more than a thousand computers and with the malware in them, it was impossible for anyone to access the files on those computers. The attackers in return demanded more than $1.2 million (approximately 125 BTC) to decrypt the files.
After the attack, it took the insurance firm approximately two weeks to get back to its feet. An investigation traced the BTC being exchanged via Bitfinex. After this, the UK high court asked Bitfinex to freeze the 96 BTC in their exchange and release the information related to the transaction.
Bitfinex information traces the stolen BTC
After the court released its ruling, the latest news is that Bitfinex information will help investigators in locating the funds and possibly arresting the attacker” ensuring the claimant that it has all the necessary tools and will continue to assist authorities. Bitfinex declared it wasn’t involved in the attack and was just ‘an innocent party that got mixed up in the wrongdoing’.
Bitfinex is helping the concerned authorities to trace the claimant of the 96 BTC. All the information on the account and KYC details have been released to the authorities on the court’s order.
The insurance company was under the attack of malware called BitPaymer. Other similar attacks have been a great source of concern, especially in the US and Canada. Last year, a wave of Ryuk Virus attacked more than 100 companies across the US. It was another trojan-horse based ransomware. In December 2019, CyrusOne had to pay more than $600,000 in BTC as it was under a similar ransomware attack.
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