Hackers Breach Cryptocurrency Brokerage Voyager Digital, Forcing Service Outage 

Cyberattacks have become increasingly rampant in the crypto space, threatening to upend what has been a relatively quiet year. Voyager Digital, a publicly-traded digital asset brokerage service, appears to have been compromised in the latest attack.

Nothing to See Here

Yesterday, Canadian-based Voyager Digital announced on Twitter that it was forced to take its system down due to a system compromise. The company’s thread explained that its app and systems had been affected following an attack on its DNS systems. The firm added that the issue had been resolved, although engineers were working to mitigate any possible future threats before reinstating its systems.

To our Voyager Customers – we would like to sincerely apologize for today’s service outage, which is still on-going. The team is working diligently to get the app and our systems back online. (1/4)

— Voyager (@investvoyager) December 29, 2020

Allaying any fears, Voyager confirmed that no user funds were lost in the attack. The hackers also didn’t seem to get their hands on customer data. Stephen Ehrlich, Voyager’s chief executive, added that customer protection is the company’s paramount consideration. The delay in service restoration was only due to a need for additional security checks.

Voyager has been building its portfolio aggressively in 2020. The company made a splash at the beginning of the year, purchasing the Circle Invest crypto trading app.

An announcement to that effect confirmed that Voyager would get Circle’s new stablecoin platform into its service. The Canadian company also explained that the move would expand its client base to over 200,000 users, with the acquisition bringing in 40,000 additional retail users to its platform.

The move brought several of Voyager’s brokerage services to Circle Invest customers. These services include zero-fee trading for over 30 digital assets and several other retail investment features.

Rachel Mayer, Circle’s Director of Product Management, noted that the move would be beneficial for both parties and their new shared customers, saying:

“This transition comes at a time when Circle is launching new platform services and products for businesses around the world to help them bring the benefits of stablecoins into their products and grow global commerce in new and innovative ways.”

Voyager also announced a big expansion play in October, confirming that it had merged with European institutional digital asset exchange LGO. Speaking with industry news sources, LGO CEO Hugo Renaudin explained that the merger would see both companies combine their services under the Voyager brand to provide crypto investment opportunities for customers in the United States and Europe.

Everyone Needs to Be Cautious

It is unclear how bad the security breach will affect Voyager and its operations. However, the company appears lucky since it didn’t affect user funds or data. Others haven’t exactly been so fortunate.

Last week, U.K.-based crypto exchange Exmo confirmed in a security notice that hackers succeeded in draining funds in its hot wallets. As the firm explained, it detected suspicious withdrawal activity on December 21, leading it to freeze all withdrawals.

Maria Stankevich, Exmo’s Head of Business Development, told industry news media that the attack wasn’t all that serious since hot wallet funds only represented five percent of all the exchange’s cash. Affected cryptocurrencies included Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Tether, Ethereum Classic, and ZCash.