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Digital Currency Exchange ShapeShift Claims Hack Was Inside Job
Digital currency exchange ShapeShift says it now believes that a hacking incident announced last week involved a former employee.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Apr 10, 2024, 2:37 a.m. Published Apr 14, 2016, 3:59 p.m.
Days after disclosing that it had been the target of a hacking incident, digital currency exchange ShapeShift said it now believes the theft was an inside job.
In a post on Reddit, CEO Eric Voorhees stated that the firm had suspected the hack was supported by a former employee, whose name and position was not disclosed.
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Voorhees wrote:
"Since the investigation into the ShapeShift hack last week started, we had suspicion that someone previously on the team was involved, and that this person assisted an outside hacker. We are confident now that is is indeed the case."
The exchange announced the hack last week, which resulted in the theft of an undisclosed amount from the service's connected wallets.
Voorhees further stated that refunds for pending orders remain held and "are in the process of being resolved". When the exchange service announced the hack, Voorhees said that refunds would be processed within 24 hours.
After posting the latest update, Voorhees later wrote that the refunds were being held in a bid to avoid fraud.
The CEO went on to reiterate that a detailed post-mortem of the incident would be published in the future, though he did not offer a specific date beyond "the appropriate time".
ShapeShift is currently working with Toronto-based blockchain consultancy Ledger Labs during its investigation of the hack, according to the update.
Image via Shutterstock
Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in ShapeShift.
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