Local media sources have reported that the Slovenia-based ‘NiceHash’ Cloud mining service has returned 60 percent of the 4,700 Bitcoins that were stolen from it in December of 2017. The company promised that it would return the missing coins to its customers shortly after news of the hack was made public.
The coins were worth approximately $65 million at the time of the hack. Since the price of Bitcoin has dropped so severely (roughly 70 percent) since the hack took place, affected users lost out on the potential to earn thousands--or even millions--of dollars.
NiceHash Pledged to Return the BTC Two Weeks After the Hack
The hack took place on December 6th when the NiceHash website was experiencing technical difficulties, forcing Nicehash to interrupt its operations.
An official statement from the company at the time of the incident explained: “Our payment system was compromised, and the contents of the NiceHash bitcoin wallet have been stolen, and that “the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency.”
NiceHash will do the seventh reimbursement on Wednesday, August 1, 2018. ‼️
This marks the reimbursement of 60% of all stolen funds! ? Please read our official press release: https://t.co/fCo7ELWSi7 — NiceHash (@NiceHashMining) July 30, 2018
Two weeks passed before NiceHash’ platform was up and running again. When the site became operational again, the company announced that funds would be restored: “We have been able to reserve the funds required to restore balances from a group of international investors,” an announcement read. “We need this interim period to ensure all legal paperwork is processed correctly, so please be patient while we do this.”
Hackers are Still At Large
The entity behind the attack is still at large, and a criminal investigation by Slovenian authorities is ongoing. “Information gathering and other activities are still underway and carried out with the help of international legal collaboration,” Slovenian police said in an official statement.
Total Slovenia News reported that criminal investigations into cybercrime are often the most difficult and lengthy. Indeed, cybercriminals are often the most difficult to prosecute; the majority go unpunished.
