Wemix Foundation CEO Kim Seok-hwan has explained the decision to withhold information about a $6.2 million hack for four days, stating that the delay was necessary to prevent panic among investors. The hack, which targeted Play Bridge—a platform under the Wemix blockchain owned by South Korean game company Wemade—resulted in the theft of 8.65 million Wemix tokens.
Speaking at a press conference held 17 days after the attack, Kim clarified that the delay was not an attempt to hide the breach but a strategic decision to avoid premature disclosure that could have exposed the platform to further risks. “We did not make an immediate announcement because prematurely publicizing information without identifying the method of the exploit could expose us to further attacks,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The breach occurred when the hacker, who had reportedly been planning the attack for two months, obtained a special authentication key for Wemix’s NFT platform, Nile. This allowed them to withdraw funds in 15 attempts, 13 of which were successful. Despite rumors suggesting involvement from the North Korean hacking group Lazarus, Kim confirmed there was no evidence linking them to the attack.
Wemix immediately shut down the affected server and reported the incident to local authorities, while working to understand the nature of the exploit and prevent future breaches. The token price of Wemix dropped sharply following the incident, falling more than 18% on February 28 from $0.70 to $0.56, and further dropped to $0.42 by March 4, marking a 40% decline in just a few days.
In response to the plunge in token value, Wemix announced plans on March 13 to repurchase 10 billion Korean won ($6.9 million) worth of tokens, followed by an additional buyback of 20 million tokens the next day. This effort briefly pushed the token price back up to $0.70, although it later stabilized at around $0.60.
Looking ahead, Wemix is preparing to reopen full services on Friday, with the CEO stating that the platform has upgraded its security and is transitioning to a new blockchain system. The investigation into the attack is still ongoing, with authorities continuing their efforts to track down the perpetrator.
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