Bancor’s security breach involved 12 million stolen tokens

Blockchain company dealt with hacking attack and security breach involving cryptocurrency

Bancor is dealing with hacking that cost company $23 million worth of cryptocurrency

The decentralized exchange company Bancor had an issue with the Web App and took it down for maintenance^[1]. The same day the company announced that the security breach took place, and involved stolen cryptocurrency tokens worth $23 million. Bancor listed losses of $12,5 million of Etherium, $10 million in Bancor Network Tokens (BNT) and $1 million worth of Pundi X (NPXS).

The company also explained how the attack evolved and how they dealt with it. Bancor assured that no user wallets were compromised. According to the report, the stolen BTN^[2] was frozen because of the built-in Bancor Protocol and criminals involved in this security breach were identified and tracked.

We were able to freeze the stolen BNT, limiting the damage to the Bancor ecosystem from the theft.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to freeze other cryptocurrencies. But the company said they are working with other exchanges to trace the stolen funds and make it more difficult for thieves to liquidate them. CEO of Changelly, Konstantin Gladych admitted^[3] that part of the stolen tokens was exchanged via Changelly.

As of now, Bancor's services are terminated, but the company assured that it would be able to continue its operation very soon. However, this instance also sparked a considerable amount of debate on whether or not the platform is genuinely decentralized as it claims to be.

A successful cryptocurrency exchange platform originated in Israel

Bancor was found in 2016 in Israel by four entrepreneurs: CEO Guy Benartzi, business development manager and his sister Galia Benartzi, product architect Eyal Hertzog, and CTO^[4] Yudi Levi. The company quickly evolved and created a platform which allowed an exchange process between cryptocurrencies without the intervention of the agents.

Bancor started to proliferate after it raised $153 million ICO^[5] in June 2017, which is considered to be one of the largest investments of the year. The company also established collaborations and partnerships in prediction markets. Founders said that they are very excited to participate, engage with these markets and create new blockchain products.

ICO scams and other cryptocurrency theft scandals raised attention this year

The awareness of cybersecurity recently has been raised because the cryptocurrency community has been suffering from cybercriminals, ICO scammers, and rogue miners, which gained a lot of revenue due to the popularity of crypto.

Centratech and DJ Khaled, Floyd Mayweather scandal was in the news a few months ago. Multiple fraud accounts were indicated when the company reached $32 million with their ICO. However, that lead them to be found guilty for wire and security fraud.

The Smominru miner platform was developed by a hacker that distributed malware to over half a million computers. The purpose was to mine Monero tokens. People noticed this activity when their devices started to work at full capacity and electricity bill grew. The hacker got over $3 million in mined tokens.

There is a way to keep your cryptocurrency secure

Overwhelming attraction towards the cryptocurrency has risen over the years. This became a trend that continues to get mixed reactions. It is a big win for people who are smart enough to take comprehensive security measures. Everyone can secure their accounts, but precautions must be made.

First thing's first – secure passwords. Do not use popular patterns, avoid using family names or birthdays. Famous words or often used nouns are not welcomed. Use different passwords for every account. Changing between capitalized and non capitalized letters and numbers can make your password secure and difficult to hack.

Keep your information private and stay secure this way. Stay away from social media and posting everything on there. Also, it is good to avoid public Wi-Fi, inappropriate websites, and spam emails. Of course, keep your software updated and download applications from legitimate providers. Finally, spread your cryptocurrency into different wallets. This ensures that you are not losing everything in case of an unfortunate way of events.