<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru police have arrested an employee after a cryptocurrency exchange in the city filed a complaint regarding a major hack, resulting in the loss of approximately $44 million (Rs 385 crore) in cryptocurrencies.</p><p>The arrested is Rahul Agarwal, who was in a well-paying role in CoinDCX, police said. He is originally from Jharkhand and has been working with the exchange for three to four years. </p>.Bengaluru: 15-member gang offers crypto deal, robs bizmen of crores.<p>Senior officers informed DH that cybercriminals had lured Agarwal into a job task fraud, which involves completing tasks such as writing Google reviews, etc., for a set amount of money. Unbeknownst to him, the suspects had used his laptop to gain access to the company servers and hack them.</p><p>“The suspect first used his personal laptop computer to take part in the task scheme. He later switched to his office laptop computer following insistence from the perpetrators,” a senior police officer said.</p><p>Hardeep Singh, the Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Neblio Technologies Pvt Limited, which is CoinDCX’s parent company, filed a complaint on July 22, following which an FIR was registered by the Whitefield Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police.</p><p>Singh told the police that on July 19, at 2.37 am, unknown persons hacked into the company’s wallet and transferred 1 USDT. USDT is a cryptocurrency pegged to the US Dollar on a 1:1 basis – meaning it aims to maintain its value to the US Dollar. </p><p>At 9.40 am, when they checked, it was found that a large sum in cryptocurrency was transferred out of the company’s wallet to six unknown personal wallets.</p><p>As per the FIR, the company had launched an investigation and found that the hack was through the laptop issued to Agarwal for official work. When asked, Agarwal confessed that he was using it for a part-time job, which was against company policy, and claimed that he had earned Rs 15 lakh in the last year.</p><p>Singh further alleged that Agarwal was in cahoots with the perpetrators. “So far, the probe has revealed that the employee was unaware and was a mere tool used by the perpetrators to gain access to the company servers. However, he was arrested and sent to judicial custody. He is currently in police custody for further probe,” a senior officer said.</p>.Crypto-exchange CoinDCX hit by $44.2 million security breach; founders say customer funds unaffected.<p>“If it were a regular bank transfer, the accounts could’ve been frozen. In this case, there is no regulation on cryptocurrency, and it is close to impossible to trace its trail. One way is to find out the origins of the wallets used by the perpetrators. If the crypto exchanges that issued those wallets refuse to respond and are located in a hostile country, accessing them would be difficult. Some exchanges also periodically delete the usage logs,” he added.</p><p>Shortly after the case was filed, CoinDCX released a statement announcing a reward of up to 25 per cent for information that helps in the retrieval and identification of the perpetrators. The exchange said that global agencies were roped in to track the funds.</p><p>"Bounty Pool Potential: Up to $11 million in value in the scenario of a full recovery," CoinDCX said in a statement, adding that the exposure is entirely covered from its treasury reserves.</p><p><strong>Unable to share further details: Crypto exchange</strong></p><p>"As the matter is currently under active investigation by the relevant authorities, we are unable to share further details at this point to ensure the integrity of the process is not compromised. We urge the media and the public to avoid speculation or the circulation of unverified information, as it may impede the ongoing investigation," a CoinDCX Spokesperson told <em>DH</em> in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru police have arrested an employee after a cryptocurrency exchange in the city filed a complaint regarding a major hack, resulting in the loss of approximately $44 million (Rs 385 crore) in cryptocurrencies.</p><p>The arrested is Rahul Agarwal, who was in a well-paying role in CoinDCX, police said. He is originally from Jharkhand and has been working with the exchange for three to four years. </p>.Bengaluru: 15-member gang offers crypto deal, robs bizmen of crores.<p>Senior officers informed DH that cybercriminals had lured Agarwal into a job task fraud, which involves completing tasks such as writing Google reviews, etc., for a set amount of money. Unbeknownst to him, the suspects had used his laptop to gain access to the company servers and hack them.</p><p>“The suspect first used his personal laptop computer to take part in the task scheme. He later switched to his office laptop computer following insistence from the perpetrators,” a senior police officer said.</p><p>Hardeep Singh, the Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs at Neblio Technologies Pvt Limited, which is CoinDCX’s parent company, filed a complaint on July 22, following which an FIR was registered by the Whitefield Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police.</p><p>Singh told the police that on July 19, at 2.37 am, unknown persons hacked into the company’s wallet and transferred 1 USDT. USDT is a cryptocurrency pegged to the US Dollar on a 1:1 basis – meaning it aims to maintain its value to the US Dollar. </p><p>At 9.40 am, when they checked, it was found that a large sum in cryptocurrency was transferred out of the company’s wallet to six unknown personal wallets.</p><p>As per the FIR, the company had launched an investigation and found that the hack was through the laptop issued to Agarwal for official work. When asked, Agarwal confessed that he was using it for a part-time job, which was against company policy, and claimed that he had earned Rs 15 lakh in the last year.</p><p>Singh further alleged that Agarwal was in cahoots with the perpetrators. “So far, the probe has revealed that the employee was unaware and was a mere tool used by the perpetrators to gain access to the company servers. However, he was arrested and sent to judicial custody. He is currently in police custody for further probe,” a senior officer said.</p>.Crypto-exchange CoinDCX hit by $44.2 million security breach; founders say customer funds unaffected.<p>“If it were a regular bank transfer, the accounts could’ve been frozen. In this case, there is no regulation on cryptocurrency, and it is close to impossible to trace its trail. One way is to find out the origins of the wallets used by the perpetrators. If the crypto exchanges that issued those wallets refuse to respond and are located in a hostile country, accessing them would be difficult. Some exchanges also periodically delete the usage logs,” he added.</p><p>Shortly after the case was filed, CoinDCX released a statement announcing a reward of up to 25 per cent for information that helps in the retrieval and identification of the perpetrators. The exchange said that global agencies were roped in to track the funds.</p><p>"Bounty Pool Potential: Up to $11 million in value in the scenario of a full recovery," CoinDCX said in a statement, adding that the exposure is entirely covered from its treasury reserves.</p><p><strong>Unable to share further details: Crypto exchange</strong></p><p>"As the matter is currently under active investigation by the relevant authorities, we are unable to share further details at this point to ensure the integrity of the process is not compromised. We urge the media and the public to avoid speculation or the circulation of unverified information, as it may impede the ongoing investigation," a CoinDCX Spokesperson told <em>DH</em> in an emailed statement.</p>