NiceHash: over 4500 BTC hacked
A new piracy case is shaking up the crypto universe today. NiceHash, a cloud mining company, is said to have stolen more than 60 million dollars in bitcoins.
Between 4500 and 4700 BTC stolen
Initially, the site simply displayed an error message related to maintenance operations. The official twitter account of NiceHash had also posted a message apologizing for a maintenance putting the site offline.
A few hours later, a user noticed that his account had outgoing transactions that were not his fault.
Soon after, many users also realized that the contents of their Bitcoin address related to NiceHash had been dumped in the direction of a wallet. This wallet seems to have been found by the community.
So what went for a simple platform bug turned out to be a large-scale hacking.
Nearly 60 million dollars come and go in less than two hours ...
NiceHash's answer
Once the hack was revealed, the NiceHash team posted an official announcement on social networks as well as on its website.
"Unfortunately, a security breach involving NiceHash has occurred. We are currently investigating the incident, and by doing so, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours. [...] Our payment system is compromised, and the contents of NiceHash bitcoin wallets have been stolen. »NiceHash official release
During this statement, the team announces working on the problem, the site is still offline and displays this same official announcement.
Founded in 2014, the cloud mining company NiceHash offers the purchase and sale of hashpower (computing power). Thus, it is possible for users to participate in the mining of Bitcoin without buying or operating the equipment themselves.
As of yet, NiceHash is maintaining that their system was compromised on 12/6/2017 by an unknown outside attacker.
If you have NiceHash software installed on your computer, I advise that you remove it until such time as NiceHash is restored to operation. If hackers compromised the server they may have also compromised clients.
Change your passwords on any account dealing with cryptocurrency.
Store your bitcoin in a "cold" or offline wallet. Collect payouts as frequently as possible and move them to secure storage.
Cryptocurrency is a volatile, and largely unregulated market. Only invest what you can afford to lose 100% of.
NiceHash has released a live video verifying that they are still in possession of their official facebook page and website. https://www.facebook.com/NiceHash/videos/2013146182237851/
I am not an owner or employee of NiceHash.