Major Cyberattack on Grinex
A major cyberattack has struck the Russian cryptocurrency platform Grinex, leading to a loss exceeding 1 billion rubles, which equates to approximately $13 million. The exchange’s website revealed on Thursday that the attack was allegedly orchestrated by ‘Western special services’.
Background and Allegations
Grinex, which has connections to the sanctioned Garantex exchange—previously closed down by the U.S. Secret Service due to alleged links to criminal entities and sanctioned banks—made this claim via an official update on their Telegram channel, translated from Russian.
Details of the Attack
In its statement, Grinex characterized the incident as a large-scale cyber offensive utilizing advanced techniques, suggesting that only sophisticated entities from hostile nations could orchestrate such an operation.
This attack represents a direct threat to the financial sovereignty of Russia.
The firm underscored the attack’s objective, which they believe is to destabilize the nation’s financial systems.
Consequently, Grinex has halted all trading activities and has alerted law enforcement entities to initiate a criminal investigation.
Impact on Operations
The exchange is primarily known for facilitating transactions involving the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5, with blockchain analytics firm Elliptic noting significant activity with the token, which has processed over $100 billion, supposedly as part of a framework to circumvent sanctions.
Grinex added that its platform has faced ongoing pressure since its inception, detailing how it has been subjected to systematic attacks aimed at obstructing cryptocurrency withdrawals, particularly outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Investigation and Findings
Despite the ongoing investigation into the hack’s origin, preliminary analysis indicates that approximately $15 million worth of USDT was transferred out of Grinex and subsequently converted into Ethereum (ETH) or Tron (TRX) on respective blockchains. The U.S. Secret Service declined to provide details regarding the investigation of the Garantex closure or any ties to Grinex.
