Crypto-Currency Theft: Hackers Steal $31m Worth of Tether’s Tokens

Without a shadow of a doubt, I agree to an extent that cryptocurrency is the future for ‘wise investors’. While a series of cryptocurrencies have been making waves in value, hackers have taken an advantage. The most recent crypto-attack is the digital currency, tether. The BBC reported that the company behind the digital currency disclosed to them that £23.4m worth of its tokens has been stolen.

The issue with cryptocurrency theft is not new. The year has seen a series of attacks by hackers. In fact, the ransom for the most recent malware attack which broke out last month was in bitcoin. Sometime in June, the largest South Korean exchange, Bithumb declared that its site had been hacked, following the hack of one of its employee’s personal computer. Many of its clients lost a fortune to the hackers. Yaoizon, in April, made a similar report that North Korean hackers carted away 5m worth of funds. CoinDash, an Isreali cryptocurrency exchange reported in July that $7m worth of funds were stolen from its site after the address was altered.

These are just snippets of the trading companies that made a public notice. Yet, in all these cases, the funds were never recovered. With cryptocurrency, transactions are highly secured, such that the hackers wallets are irrecoverable.

The Hong Kong company involved in this recent attack has taken measures to checkmate the activities of transactions to stop the hackers from redeeming the funds. Unlike other digital currencies which fluctuate against the dollar, Tether is under the dominance of the US currency.

The tether currency was designed to protect investors from the unpredictable nature of other digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin that tend to fluctuate with a wide margin against the dollar. Moreover, they have the opportunity to operate a blockchain wallet for easy funds transfer.

Tether’s operator disclosed that $30,950, 010 worth of funds were stolen from one of the company’s core treasury wallets without authorization to a bitcoin address on November 19. ‘A thorough investigation on the cause of the attack is being undertaken to prevent similar actions in the future…We appreciate the community’s patience, understanding, and support while we work to rectify the situation’, a published statement by the company read.

It added that a software update currently is available to prevent the funds from moving from the hacker’s wallet but is only possible if other investors would install immediately.