EXMO Hack

Reported loss $11.7M
Multiple
Suspected private-key compromise

What happened

EXMO reported unauthorized withdrawals of BTC, XRP, ZEC, USDT, ETC and ETH on December 21, 2020. Its interim investigation said wallet servers were affected while the production server and customer information were not.

Technical root cause

EXMO suspected private-key access after reviewing server logs. Its interim report did not establish how that access was obtained.

How it happened

  1. Assets were withdrawn to external addresses from EXMO's cryptocurrency wallet infrastructure.
  2. EXMO suspended deposits and withdrawals, traced some XRP and ETH to Poloniex and requested account blocking.
  3. It contacted police and blockchain investigation firms, and prepared replacement wallet servers.
  4. EXMO said customer account balances were unchanged in its December 22 update.

Protocol details

Classification CeFi / Key Compromise
Protocol Type CEX
Protocol links Website @Exmo_Com

Understand the attack patterns

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