Not long after several cryptocurrency exchanges reported various security breaches, a hacker has targeted the mining pool service NiceHash and managed to steal around $60 million worth of Bitcoin as a result.
As of right now, it is still unclear what exactly happened to the affected mining pools, but the platform that specializes in cloud mining, hash rental services, and multipool mining may have suffered an exploit that can be used to lift cryptocurrency from mining pools.
Dear NiceHash users,
we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused. Our team is working hard to resolve the issues on the service, it might take longer than expected. We’ll keep you updated!— NiceHash (@NiceHashMining)
At least one hacker has already taken advantage of the security flaw, and NiceHash has suspended all operations for the next 24 hours.
The company said it is currently investigating the nature of the incident to but still unable to know exactly how the hackers managed to gain access to its infrastructure to reroute users’ mining power to their own pool. However, it confirmed that its payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen.
Users originally complained about the service outage on internet forums a few hours ago, but NiceHash didn’t report on the attack and only showed a mysterious maintenance notification for the entire day.
Dear NiceHash user, our service is currently under maintenance.
We are sorry for the inconvenience and please stay tuned for updates.
Thank you for your understanding.— NiceHash (@NiceHashMining)
Founded in 2014, Nicehash has recently grown to be one of the biggest mining hashrate marketplaces in the world. The company allows miners, traders, and investors buy and sell hashing power on demand.
Nicehash’s official statement further reads:
Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days. In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency.
We are fully committed to restoring the NiceHash service with the highest security measures at the earliest opportunity.
We would not exist without our devoted buyers and miners all around the globe. We understand that you will have a lot of questions, and we ask for patience and understanding while we investigate the causes and find the appropriate solutions for the future of the service. We will endeavour to update you at regular intervals.
While the full scope of what happened is not yet known, we recommend, as a precaution, that you change your online passwords.
We are truly sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused and are committing every resource towards solving this issue as soon as possible.
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