The damage caused by hacking of the Poloniex crypto exchange exceeded $100 million

[Lord777]

On November 10, an unknown attacker attacked the Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange. According to preliminary data from Arkham Intelligence, total losses exceeded $124.5 million in digital assets.

Around 14:00 (UTC+3), PeckShield analysts alerted the platform and its CEO, Justin Sun, to suspicious withdrawals from one of the company's hot wallets.

Hi @Poloniex, you may want to take a look: @justinsuntron

https://t.co/UobItZ9FpO

— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) November 10, 2023

At the same time, the Poloniex support account in X reported that the maintenance address was disabled.

After 40 minutes, Sun confirmed the incident, announcing the start of an investigation. According to him, Poloniex is in a "healthy financial position" and fully compensates for the lost funds at its own expense.

We are currently investigating the Poloniex hack incident. Poloniex maintains a healthy financial position and will fully reimburse the affected funds. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities for collaboration with other exchanges to facilitate the recovery of these funds.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 10, 2023

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722942733680296246

The exchange will also seek help from other platforms to recover stolen assets.

Sun offered the hacker 5% on the condition that all stolen funds were returned. He was given a week to consider the offer, after which Poloniex will contact law enforcement agencies.

We are offering a 5% white hat bounty to the Poloniex hacker. Please return the funds to the following ETH/TRX/BTC wallets. We will give you 7 days to consider this offer before we engage law enforcement.
ETH Wallet: 0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132 TRX:…
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 10, 2023

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722951876986204259

Arkham representatives added that they announced a reward of 10,000 ARKM (~$4185) for helping identify the attacker.

We've created and funded a bounty to help identify the person or organization behind today's @Poloniex exploit.

Cc @justinsuntron

Bounty Link: https://t.co/qMEA6KUsyu

Poloniex Exploiter on Arkham: https://t.co/AOJWEB0Y5X https://t.co/imBQrJa73G pic.twitter.com/CuUqVKncur
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) November 10, 2023

*****

Sun reported on the "successful identification and freezing of part of the assets associated with the hacker's addresses."

Additionally, the team have restored Poloniex's systems, preserved relevant evidence, and in the coming days, we will work diligently to gradually resume deposits and withdrawals on Poloniex, ensuring 100% security. Apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 10, 2023

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723009018086527126

"Currently, the losses are within acceptable limits, and Poloniex's operating income can cover them," he stressed.