Delhi Police Arrest Suspect in $235M WazirX Hack, Exposing Telegram-Based FakeAccountScam

Key takeaways

• In the $235 million WazirX hack investigation, Delhi Police arrested a suspect linked to a group of hackers.
• An independent review by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre confirmed WazirX's internal security wasn't compromised, as attackers used external deceptive methods.
• Liminal Custody, WazirX's digital asset manager, accused WazirX of unfairly shifting blame for the breach onto it.

Delhi Police Crack $235M Hack

Delhi Police have made a breakthrough in the investigation of a $235 million hack on the WazirX exchange. They arrested a man from the Bengal region suspected of being involved in the theft.

The police shared a chargesheet revealing new details showing that the hack did not happen due to weaknesses in WazirX's system. Instead, someone carried out the hack through a fake WazirX account. The account was sold on Telegram to a third party, who then exploited it for the theft.

In the investigation, WazirX cooperated fully with the authorities by providing hardware, Know Your Customer (KYC) records, and transaction logs. These were important for the inquiry.

Also, The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (IFSO) reviewed WazirX's systems. It confirmed that WazirX's internal security was not compromised. This finding supported WazirX's security measures, clearing people's questions about the exchange's safety.

Meanwhile, the chargesheet explained that the attackers gained access from the outside using deceptive methods. They tricked their way into the system, accessing WazirX's multisignature wallet which held a large amount of crypto tokens. The attackers emptied this wallet, carting away tokens worth $235 million.

Further, the chargesheet suggested that the suspect was part of a skilled group of hackers. This group hacked into WazirX's platform by creating a fake account.

WazirX Hack Investigation Unfolds with Telegram Account Sale and Disputes Over Blame

The suspect revealed more details during questioning. He said someone on Telegram wanted to buy a WazirX crypto account from him, offering a good amount" of money.

Meanwhile, the IFSO conducted an independent review of the breach. This review confirmed that WazirX's systems remained secure.

However, the investigation faced some problems as third-party services, which help manage WazirX's digital assets, did not cooperate quickly. These delays slowed down the process of collecting data.

On Oct. 22, Liminal Custody, which manages WazirX's digital assets, released a statement. Liminal responded to what was described as WazirX's disinformation campaign" and claimed that WazirX unfairly blamed it for the breach.

According to Liminal, WazirX shared misleading information. This information suggested that Liminal was at fault. Liminal said WazirX used data disclosures and accusations to shift blame onto it.

This statement explained that WazirX left over $175 million in assets on Liminal's platform even 75 days after the breach. Despite this, WazirX still blamed Liminal for the security breach.

Liminal pointed out that if it were truly at fault, WazirX would not have kept so many assets with it.

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