Summary:
- Kucoin’s Twitter account was compromised for nearly an hour on early Monday, the crypto exchange told users in a thread.
- Multiple users lost 22,628 USDT over 22 transactions after interacting with fraudulent tweets from the platform’s account.
- The exchange assured users that funds remain SAFU and provided a support ticket to help affected users in recovery.
The Twitter account of crypto exchange Kucoin was breached, leading to multiple losses for users in just a few minutes.
Kucoin, a digital asset trading exchange, lost control of its Twitter account on Monday, April 24 for around 45 minutes. This breach is reported to have caused losses for multiple users up to 22,638 in USDT, crypto’s largest stablecoin by market cap.
1/ The @kucoincom handle was compromised for about 45 mins from 00:00 Apr 24 (UTC+2). A fake activity was posted and unfortunately led to asset losses for several users. KuCoin will fully reimburse all verified asset losses caused by the social media breach and the fake activity.
— KUCOIN (@kucoincom) April 24, 2023
The exchange identified 22 transactions from users who interacted with fraudulent tweets. “we are currently examining and blocking suspicious addresses” Kucoin said, promising to prevent any further damage and protect customer assets. The platform also promised full reimbursement to affected users.
3/ Until 02:00 Apr 24 (UTC+2), we have identified 22 transactions including ETH/BTC associated with the fake activity, with a total value of 22,628 USDT. To prevent more users from being harmed, we are currently examining and blocking suspicious addresses.
Kucoin claims it is conducting an in-depth investigation of the incident with Twitter to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Assets on the exchange remain secure and SAFU despite the exploit via Twitter, the crypto exchange stressed in today’s thread.
Cyber Criminal Target Crypto Exchanges
Today’s attack is the latest exploit on crypto exchanges so far in 2023. A hacker drained $23 million in ETH, SHIB, MATIC, and other cryptos from crypto exchange Bitrue, forcing the platform to suspend withdrawals until April 18 to restore full security.
Before that, South Korean digital asset trading venue Gdac suffered an attack on its hot wallet. The attackers looted $13 million in crypto assets.
Crypto Crackdown On Kucoin
Kucoin, like other crypto businesses in the U.S., is no stranger to the regulatory spotlight. Just last month, the exchange was sued by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. AG James claims the exchange is an unregistered commodities and securities dealer.
In the suit brought against the Seychelles-based firm on Thursday, AG James alleged that the exchange facilitated crypto transactions that violated commodities and securities laws within New York. The regulator also accused Kucoin of operating without a commodity and securities license.
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On Friday, Dec. 18, KuCoin, the leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, announced that it had suffered a security breach. According to the announcement, the incident resulted in the loss of 22,000 USDT tokens from its own wallet, but no other assets were affected.
KuCoin immediately suspended deposits and withdrawals from its services, and contacted the relevant blockchain projects to secure and freeze the stolen assets as quickly as possible. The company is actively investigating the incident, and says that it will update users as new information is made available.
It is believed that the attack was a result of a malicious link posted on KuCoin’s official Twitter page. The hackers were able to acquire users’ private data and credentials in order to gain access to their wallets. KuCoin has advised users to reset their passwords and enable two-factor authentication to protect their accounts.
The incident highlights the importance of security in the cryptocurrency industry, as such attacks can be difficult to prevent. It also emphasizes the need to be aware of potential scams and phishing attempts.
Ultimately, users should be cautious when making transactions on any exchange, and mitigate their risk by ensuring that their accounts are secure. KuCoin has vowed to increase the security measures on its platform to prevent similar breaches from occurring in the future.
