India-based bitcoin exchange Coinsecure has announced that 438.318 bitcoins worth $3.3 million were stolen from its service, allegedly due to the actions of a rogue employee.
According to a statement on the company's website, the funds were lost as a result of the exposure of private keys, the cryptographic code that unlocks and moves blockchain-based assets, by the company's chief security officer Dr. Amitabh Saxena in an attempt to distribute bitcoin gold to customers.
In a FIR with the cybercrime unit in New Delhi, the company says, "We feel that he is making a false story to divert our attention and he might have a role to play in this entire incident."
"Speaking to CoinDesk, CEO of Coinsecure, Mohit Kalra, said the theft occurred at no fault of the company, rather,"It was our CSO's system which was compromised as he claims.
The company has also asked the cybercrime unit to seize Saxena's passport to prevent him from absconding.
Speaking on the website, Coinsecure asked its customers to stand by the company in its efforts to recover the lost funds.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Kalra called this as an "Unfortunate event."
"We are working day and night to resolve this. It might take time to recover the lost funds, but our customers will be indemnified from our company's funds and we will relaunch much stronger."
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.
CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
Bitcoin Exchange Implicates Employee In $3 Million Theft
Published on Apr 13, 2018
by Coindesk | Published on Coinage
Coinage
Mentioned in this article
Recent News
View All
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin's Run, Uniswap's Hemorrhaging Value, Anchorage's Banking Bid
Bitcoin is nearing all-time highs in price and market cap last set three years ago.
Japan's megabanks to lead experiment with digital yen
We have, in order, Cheese Bank with a $3.3 million theft, Akropolis with its $2 million loss, Value DeFi with a whopping $6 million exploit and finally Origin Protocol's loss of $7 million.
Number of new Bitcoin addresses spikes amid growing FOMO
Japan's three largest banks, as part of a group of 30 private sector actors, are set to collaborate on an experiment with a digital yen.
Not just Wall Street: Quant trader explains why Bitcoin price is going up
Sam Trabucco, a quantitative trader at Alameda Research, believes four general factors are pushing up the price of Bitcoin.