Hacker Steals Then Returns Funds For Reward To Huobi's HTX: 'You Made The Right Choice'

Crypto exchange HTX affiliated with Huobi Global, has announced the recovery of assets misappropriated by a cyber intruder in September, subsequently rewarding the individual with a 250 Ether ETH/USD incentive for their cooperation.

The breach, which took place on Sep. 25, saw a significant 5,000 ETH, valued at an estimated $8 million, siphoned from one of HTX's active wallets.

In the aftermath, HTX promptly reached out to the alleged hacker, asserting their knowledge of the individual's identity.

As the crypto world grapples with such security challenges, it's worth noting that topics like these will be under discussion at the upcoming Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14.

To expedite the return of the pilfered assets, HTX proposed a deal: a 5% reward, equivalent to roughly $400,000, in exchange for the hacker returning 95% of the stolen funds by an Oct. 2 deadline, with a promise of no subsequent legal actions.

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Justin Sun, an investor and adviser with Huobi Global, shared his thoughts on the matter on Oct. 7 via X stating, “The hacker made the right choice. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the industry for their help!”

He further emphasized the company's dedication to security, saying, “Providing full security for user assets is always our goal to strive for! We are thankful for the continued support of our users and community!”

In a message accompanying the returned assets, the hacker conveyed, “Received your message. White hat bonus to 0x1Fc8674A51D6b97C968BE384337519CE7003152B. Your system hot wallet private key leak, you should change system hot wallet address and reduce the system hot wallet rate.”

HTX responded, “You have made the right choice. We have already paid the white hat bonus to 0x1Fc8674A51D6b97C968BE384337519CE7003152B. Please submit a security vulnerability analysis report to the email htxsafe@htx-inc.com so that we can avoid similar incidents in the future. Your privacy will be protected.”

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