Cyberattack on Crytocurrency Exchange
Bithumb, the largest Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, has tried to prevent additional damage from the recent cyberattack by restricting withdrawal from some customers’ accounts. However, an increasing number of customers have reported that they lost money in the attack.
According to financial industry sources on July 10, affected users are having a gathering through internet portal sites or social media services and putting up a post about their monetary damages.
After Bithumb found out that it had been hacked and 30,000 customers' data has been compromised, it prohibited withdrawal from their accounts on June 30. However, affected users complain that the figure is only 4 percent of its 710,000 users and Bithumb is trying to reduce the amount of damage. An affected user surnamed Lee said, “My money was withdrawn from my account so I called Bithumb to check whether I am one of the affected users. But, it said I am not in the list. If Bithumb cannot figure out the exact damage, it should prohibit withdrawal from all users’ accounts just now.”
Some other affected users compained that Bithumb said it would make an every effort to prevent second damage but it is just sitting on its hands. Another affected user surnamed Hwang received an e-mail from Bithumb on July 9, saying “Your Ethereum worth 20 million won (US$17,384) was sold and the money was transferred to another person’s account.” He called Bithumb right away but he was told to report to the police. Hwang, who expected prompt action including additional restriction of withdrawal, was disappointed with Bithumb’s response.
In this regard, a Bithumb spokesperson said, “It is still under investigation so we cannot present an official response. We have already paid 30,000 affected customers 100,000 won (US$86.92). For those who have suffered additional damage due to this incident, as soon as the amount of damages is confirmed, we will reimburse the entire amount of damages.”
Meanwhile, 160 affected customers are planning to file a class-action suit against Bithum.