Hackers may have made off with more than $60 million worth of bitcoin.
The attackers targeted a company called NiceHash with a cyber attack on Wednesday. NiceHash lets people offer up their computing capacity to bitcoin miners.
NiceHash first sent out an ”under maintenance” message to its users before publishing a statement confirming the attack.
Dear NiceHash users,
we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused. Our team is working hard to resolve the issues on the service, it might take longer than expected. We'll keep you updated!— NiceHash (@NiceHashMining) December 6, 2017
NiceHash sent out a statement saying it was “investigating the nature of the incident,” and that it would close down its site for a day.
“We are working to verify the precise number of BTC (bitcoin) taken,” the company said. “Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days.In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency.”
Users pointed to a bitcoin wallet which holds 4,736.42 bitcoins which is equivalent to $67 million.
The digital currency surged in price in the past two days, trading above $17,200 by 1:30 pm Thursday.