Atomic Wallet’s Unclear Statement: User Skepticism Prevails
Decentralized wallet provider Atomic Wallet has left its users seeking further clarification despite releasing a comprehensive event statement. A significant exploit in June is estimated to sum up to $100 million in losses.
Initial Update and Response
In a blog post on June 20, Atomic Wallet provided its first major update since the June 3 exploit, claiming that no new confirmed cases have emerged following the initial reports of the hack.
Asserted Impact
The company reiterated its previous assertion that less than 0.1% of app users were affected, which has been met with skepticism and criticism from many online.
Exploit Possibilities: A Rundown
Atomic Wallet did not disclose the exact cause of the exploit, presenting four probable causes, including a virus on user devices, an infrastructure breach, a man-in-the-middle attack, or malware code injection.
The Path Forward: Security Measures
The wallet provider further stated that none of these scenarios had been confirmed as the potential cause of the massive breach. However, Atomic Wallet did mention that its security infrastructure has been updated.
A Question of Auditors and Transparency
The company also revealed that it is working on an app update to enhance security, which external auditors have verified. However, questions have arisen regarding the identity of these “external auditors” and whether users can access their statements.
Unanswered Queries: Cause of the Exploit
Critics have also highlighted the wide range of possibilities proposed by Atomic Wallet, suggesting that the company has yet to comprehensively understand how the exploit occurred.
Claims of North Korean Involvement
Recent allegations from MistTrack have claimed that North Korean hackers utilized Atomic Wallet to launder stolen funds using various smart contracts, employing a money laundering method similar to the Harmony cross-chain bridge hacking incident.
The Scope of Damage: An Expensive Hack
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the losses from the Atomic Wallet hack have now surpassed $100 million, underscoring the severity of the incident that affected approximately 5,500 cryptocurrency wallets.
