In its recent blog post, ChangeNOW, one of the most authoritative non-custodial crypto exchanges, provided more details on the latest incident with the Algorand (ALGO) tokens stolen from the hacked asset holders.
Recall that the hackers looted several Algorand users on February 19, pocketing a net 13.3 million ALGO, which is almost equal to $3.6 million. John Woods, Algorand’s chief technologist, has responded to the situation, emphasizing that the heist couldn’t be committed through an exploit in the protocol itself.
Woods tweeted on February 22,
“I agree that there's too many of these hacks to be a coincidence, but it's not a problem with the protocol. We're working to help on an individual basis, looks like a targeted attack to me. Be extra careful with your Operational Sec, double check before you approve txns.”
The Algorand transaction history has shown that some stolen crypto assets were moved to ChangeNOW in a failed attempt to launder them. ChangeNOW’s in-house AML system recognized these transfers as fraudulent and blocked them from being further processed.
The insider update from Cryptodaily reveals that the exchange stopped three transactions: 600.000 Algorand-based USDC, 829.000 Algorand-based USDC, and 300.000 ALGO. Thus, a combined amount of $1.5M was safeguarded.
ChangeNOW’s anti-fraud and anti-money laundering mechanisms reacted swiftly, just like they previously did in cases of emergency. Their implementation has prevented $19 million in total from being lost as a result of fraudulent activity.
“ChangeNOW has strict risk-prevention measures to detect and prevent fraudulent activities and continues to improve them daily. ChangeNOW’s quick action in stopping suspicious transactions is a testament to the effectiveness of its security measures,” – stated in ChangeNOW’s message.
As also noted in the blog post, the exchange is taking all necessary efforts to return stolen ALGO, adhering to its relevant policies. At the same time, it helps both Algorand team and affected users mitigate damage.
