Cybercriminal Hacked 1.3BTC from Man’s Bittrex Account 48 Hours After First Deposit

A man’s Bittrex account was hacked. The site itself was not. The first question that comes to mind regards password strength. Was his password easy to guess? The article here doesn’t give us much detail on how it was hacked. We do know that there are many phishing websites that exist solely to trick you into giving up your username and password. This is another reason why 2FA is extremely important.

From Bittrex:

We highly recommend users enable two-factor to further secure their accounts and protect them from most automated attacks.  However, many users will still use the same passwords and email combinations they use on other sites as well as weak password to protect their accounts.  Bittrex keeps your user information secure and has never leaked any passwords.  However, many sites in the Crypto world have been hacked and the hackers have databases that they attempt to use to login to accounts.  This is why we suggest enabling two-factor.

We also know that Bittrex requires authorization for new IP logins. If it’s not your usual IP, you will receive an email to verify activity.

From CryptoDaily:

Spanish police are currently investigating how 1.3 Bitcoin could have disappeared from the Bittrex account of a man from Tenerife. The Bitcoin, amounting to a value of around 80,000 euros, appears to have been the target of a cybercriminal. 

The story was reported in La Provincia, a digital daily news platform. The report documented how the man had originally created an account with Bittrex, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange.  

The man deposited the amount of 80,000 euros ($61,000) and was given encrypted keys so that only he could access the account. 

At a later date, the man tried to access his account and was unable to. When he was finally able to access the account around 48 hours later, it was to find that his deposit of 1.3 Bitcoin had disappeared. When he contacted Bittrex, the exchange stated that it believed the account had been hacked by a cybercriminal. 

Now that the crime is being investigated by the Spanish judicial authority, Bittrex could face serious consequences.

At the end of the day, never use the same password twice. Every so often, change your password. Always use 2FA. Beware of phishing sites and never give your info out to someone. No entity involving finances will ever ask for your username and password. Not the IRS, not stock exchanges, not crypto exchanges, and etc…

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