Hackers Breach Indonesian Cryptocurrency Exchange INDODAX

Hackers Breach Indonesian Cryptocurrency Exchange INDODAX, Steal $18 Million

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in Indonesia has fallen victim to a hacker attack. As a result, PT Indodax Nasional Indonesia lost funds equivalent to IDR 280.37 billion. The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) has summoned the Indodax management for an official review.

Indodax representatives stated that they are conducting an investigation to clarify the accusations and understand the situation fully. Indodax CEO Oscar Darmawan confirmed that his company had indeed been breached. He explained that the exchange's transaction system was likely compromised.

“For this reason, we are carrying out a thorough investigation and reviewing the current system. During this process, access to the Indodax web platform and app is unavailable. However, there is no need to worry, as we guarantee that our clients' balances, both in cryptocurrency and rupiah, are secure,” Darmawan said in a statement.

Bappebti chairman Kasan also reported, “Bappebti is coordinating with Indodax. We are already receiving explanations from the company regarding this matter. Currently, Indodax is investigating the system that was presumably hacked.”

Kasan added that Indodax is performing a full system shutdown to ensure everything is functioning correctly. “For this reason, Bappebti urges Indodax clients to remain calm and not panic,” he stated.

One of the exchange's addresses held assets worth around $14.4 million or IDR 221.83 billion, which were then exchanged for Ether cryptocurrency and transferred to various addresses.

"Attention, hello @indodax, our system has detected several suspicious transactions involving your wallet across different networks. A suspicious address held $14.4 million and swapped tokens for Ether," the Cyvers Alerts company posted on Twitter. However, Cyvers later updated the potential loss figure to $18.2 million or approximately IDR 280.37 billion, resulting from over 150 transactions. "@indodax, please take action," Cyvers added.

The full extent of the losses the company has suffered is still unknown, as Indodax has not yet disclosed the total amount.

Indodax, the first cryptocurrency trading platform in Indonesia, was founded by Oscar Darmawan and William Sutanto in 2013, initially named Bitcoin.co.id or Bitcoin Indonesia. As of April 2024, the platform had 6.7 million users, representing over a third of all crypto investors in Indonesia, with a total trading volume reaching IDR 29 trillion.