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WazirX Hacker Moves $11M Stolen Ether to Tornado Cash

Sep 8, 2024
    The North Korean entity responsible for the hack on India’s WazirX crypto exchange moved over $11 million in stolen ether (ETH) to Tornado Cash early Monday, aiming to mask the transaction trail.The breach in July resulted in the loss of over $100 million in SHIB, $52 million in ETH, and other assets, representing a significant portion of WazirX’s reserves, with ongoing efforts to manage the fallout through restructuring.
As a researcher with extensive experience in the digital asset realm, I find it disheartening yet intriguing to observe the relentless activities of cybercriminals, particularly those associated with North Korea. The recent move by this entity to launder over $11 million in stolen ether through Tornado Cash is a testament to their adaptability and the evolving nature of cryptocurrency crime.On Monday morning, the North Korean group responsible for India’s largest cryptocurrency heist transferred approximately $11 million worth of stolen Ether (ETH) to the mixer service Tornado Cash, marking another series of transactions in this ongoing process.
According to information traced by Arkham, approximately 5,000 Ethereum (ETH), valued around $11 million at present market rates, that were taken in the July hack of cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, were transferred to a different address at 07:19 UTC.

Subsequently, the specified address dispatched approximately $1.2 million in tokens across five distinct transactions towards Tornado Cash.

Tornado Cash facilitates the swapping of cryptocurrency tokens, all while concealing the associated wallet addresses across multiple blockchains. Although the platform itself isn’t inherently malicious, it is often employed by crypto criminals to obscure a trail that might point back to the individuals transferring ill-gotten funds.

Last week’s $4 million transaction was followed by the moves we are seeing now, initially reported by CoinDesk. The hacker’s primary account contains approximately $107 million in assorted tokens, with around $100 million of that being ether.

WazirX Hacker Moves $11M Stolen Ether to Tornado Cash
During July, an incident involving a security breach occurred on WazirX’s multisignature wallet. This unfortunate event led to the withdrawal of approximately $100 million worth of Shiba Inu (SHIB) and about $52 million in Ether, along with other assets, from the platform.

More than 45% of the overall reserves mentioned in the June 2024 report were found to be stolen funds, leading the exchange to seek a restructuring process in order to address its outstanding debts.

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2024-09-09 12:43