Hackers Raid DogeVault, Fate Of Customer Dogecoins Unclear
Some customers say their virtual wallets were emptied minutes before the website went down
DogeVault, an online virtual currency wallet for Dogecoin, has been attacked by hackers who have “destroyed all data on the hosted virtual machines” and reportedly took control of the customers’ accounts.
“We are currently in the process of identifying the extent of the attack and potential impact on user’s funds,” says a statement which has replaced the DogeVault homepage.
Several Dogecoin users have noted suspicious transactions across the network shortly before the website went offline.
Bad Doge
Dogecoin started as a joke – a cryptocurrency based on the (allegedly) popular Internet meme – but it soon grew into an online payment tool with a current market cap of around £20.5 million.
Virtual currency enthusiasts have been mining, buying and selling Dogecoins despite the fact that they have few commercial applications. The coins can be stored offline, or in virtual wallets like DogeVault – until recently, one of the recommended wallets on Dogecoin.com.
Earlier this week, the administrators of DogeVault posted an advisory in which they admitted that the wallet service has been hacked.
“As soon as the administrator of Doge Vault was alerted, the service was halted. The attackers had already accessed and destroyed all data on the hosted virtual machines,” wrote Asad Haider, the only known administrator of DogeVault.
He said he will attempt to “salvage” customer wallet data from an off-site backup, and promised to investigate the breach and find the vulnerability that made it possible.
Meanwhile, some DogeVault users have reported that their coins were transferred out just moments before the website went offline. Investigation by The Cryptocurrency Times suggests that all stolen Dogecoins were moved into a single “mega-wallet” which now contains 111 million coins.
Haider has made the obvious recommendation of not transferring any funds to DogeVault while the investigation takes place. He added that he will issue an additional statement with more details in the next two days.
Earlier this year, the Jamaican bobsleigh team raised more than $25,000 to compete at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, after it started accepting donations in Dogecoin, many from fans of the movie Cool Runnings.
What do you know about Bitcoin? Take our quiz!
