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- Hackers used a fake job offer to plant malware on a CoinDCX employee’s office laptop.
- Around $44 million in crypto was transferred to six unknown wallets.
- A recovery program offering $11 million has been launched to track the stolen funds.
Indian police reported that hackers tricked a CoinDCX employee into installing malware on his work laptop. The attackers lured Rahul Agarwal, a Jharkhand native and employee of CoinDCX, with a fake part-time job. That malware later helped the hackers access the company’s wallet and steal $44 million worth of crypto.
Hackers breached CoinDCX, operated by Bengaluru’s Neblio Technologies, in the early hours of July 19. The stolen coins turned up in six anonymous wallets. The firm’s vice president of public policy and government affairs, Hardeep Singh, discovered the theft and registered a police complaint on July 22.
According to the Whitefield CEN police, Agarwal used to accomplish small jobs on the Internet for extra cash. He used to work on his own laptop but subsequently used his office laptop. That action led the hackers to install malware and gain access to the internal network of the company unknowingly.
Malware Tracked CoinDCX Systems to Enable Crypto Theft
Police added that Agarwal never knew about the larger plan. He used to do review-writing jobs and revealed that he received ₹15 lakh as the payment for the work. This payment raised suspicions in the eyes of the company once internal auditing discovered the suspicious activity.
He used to work at CoinDCX for three years. He was detained but said that he never knew his operation facilitated a crime. The hack took place on the night of July 19 at 2:37 a.m. Experts believe the malware quietly tracked access to the CoinDCX systems to steal the cryptocurrency.
Police now confront a multifaceted task. Cryptocurrency is hard to follow, particularly once it is funneled through overseas wallets. Unlike banking transactions, cryptocurrency does not have a centralized authority and tends to mask the sources of the money.
25% Reward Offered for Help in CoinDCX Crypto Recovery
CoinDCX is fighting back today. The company co-founder, Neeraj Khandelwal, announced a Recovery Bounty Program. The exchange is awarding 25% of recovered assets to individuals who help recover the stolen assets. That works out to about $11 million.
Police registered a case on several parts of the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The clauses entail the offenses of identity theft, online fraud, and criminal breach of trust. Investigators continue the case, but lenient rules and the offshore transaction make the path to justice long and uncertain.
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