Hackers still Exploit Cryptopia

If reports are to be believed, hackers still have control over New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia.

In a blog post, blockchain data analytics firm Elementus said that Cryptopia’s hacker, after staying low for a few days, has stolen an additional of 1,675 ether from 17,000 wallets – which is an approximated amount worth about $181,000.

It initially looked like Cryptopia might have been trying to move cryptocurrency to a secure state with the remaining user funds, but it was found out that ether was being sent to an Ethereum address which had been used by the hacker in the past as well. The firm said- “The hacker has the private keys and has the ability to withdraw funds from any Cryptopia wallet at his will and wish.”

Elementus went on to say that some wallets were still being topped up, and this suggested that not all users were aware of the breach.

The firm went on to add- “Most of the funds have been coming from mining pools. It looks like these payments are being sent on behalf of miners who had opted to receive their rewards automatically with the help of a ‘direct deposit,’ and might have since forgotten about it.”

Last week, Elementus published an analysis which indicated that about a whopping $16 million worth of ether and ERC-20 tokens could have been stolen from Cryptopia wallets. The exchange hasn’t released any information regarding the amount they have lost till date. They went offline on Jan. 15 wherein they stated the reason as a major hack which resulted in “significant losses” for them.

Since the shutdown, New Zealand Police has been investigating this case and stated that they have kept an “open mind” so as to pin down all possibilities.

On Jan. 22, the police issued an update which stated that “good progress” has been made and “positive lines of enquiry have been developed which will be helpful in identifying the source of the transfer, and where the cryptocurrencies could have been sent.”