Defi Platform BitKeep Drained by $8m After Users Flag Vulnerability
BitKeep wallet users suffered an $8 million loss despite reporting security flaws.
The hack was initially reported by blockchain security firm Peckshield.
The platform pledged to compensate all affected users.
PeckShield reported that this year the DeFi industry suffered losses of more than $3 billion.
According to the BitKeep official announcement, "If your funds
The year 2022, which witnessed the most DeFi hacks, is coming to an end. However, even during the year’s ending days, the hackers remain keen to drain more dollars from victims.
In line with this, a Multi-Chain Web3 DeFi wallet provider, BitKeep, announced on December 26 that the platform had suffered a massive exploit. The platform noted that hackers had infiltrated some APK package downloads, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars in users' funds.
According to the BitKeep official announcement, "If your funds are stolen, the application you download or update may be an unknown version (unofficial release version)." The development team advises users of the APK version to transfer their funds to a wallet downloaded from an authorized store, such as the App Store or Play Store.
The hack was initially reported by the blockchain security firm Peckshield, claiming that approximately $8 million in BitKeep user funds were stolen via a pirated APK version of the crypto wallet.
Users Flag Vulnerability
Prior to the official announcement, BitKeep users first reported unusual activity with their wallets in the Telegram group yesterday. A user complained that their funds were being automatically transferred to the wallet address "0x66bf...." Later, several users complained about the automatic transactions of their funds.
However, the Web3 wallet provider didn’t respond immediately to the users' complaints. As a result, the company later suffered an $8 million hack. As per PeckShield's report, the stolen assets include 4373 Binance Coins, 5.4 million USDT, 196,000 DAI, and 1233.21 Ethereum.
Meanwhile, BitKeep has asked affected users to share details about their stolen funds via a Google Form link it has provided in order to assist users who have been affected by the hack. The team asserted that it will give full compensation to the affected users if the asset loss is caused due to the platform.
DeFi Hacks in 2022
According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, hackers have stolen more than $3 billion in over 135 attacks from the DeFi industry this year. This number is 50% higher than what was stolen from the entire sector in 2021.
This year the DeFi industry has suffered some of the most significant hacks, like the Ronin Network hack (Loss – $620 million), Wormhole Bridge hack (Loss – $320 million), Nomad Bridge hack (Loss – $190 million), and many more.
These high-frequency hacks raised concerns about the protocols or the DeFi industry’s security measures. Experts believe that if the DeFi industry does not implement any advancement in their safety measures, the hacking cycle would continue in the next year as well.
Is the DeFi industry safe enough to engage in, or have hackers become more powerful? Please share your valuable thoughts in the comment section below.
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