With the ubiquity of modern technologies such as AI, ML, and blockchain, cyber risks and hack attacks too have escalated with cybercriminals prying on people’s private data. As the world transitioned to a digital space after the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, cyber attackers found more sophisticated techniques to steal information, therefore, increasing cyber threats across countries.
In the past year, even established companies such as Twitter, Marriott International and SolarWinds were victims of laptop-wielding larcenists losing millions of resources and user data. Another such firm was Spain-based crypto trading firm 2gether where hackers stole roughly €1.2 m worth of cryptocurrency from its customers’ investment accounts.
While 2gether CEO Ramón Ferraz Estrada assured customers that wallets and Euro accounts were safe and that no financial details of payment cards were stolen, 26.79% of the firm’s total funds were lost. At the time, the firm said it wouldn’t refund its users due to lack of money but is seeking a cash injection from an “investment firm.”
“At this point, we want to offer you the solution that offers the best guarantees for your funds: we want to compensate the total or partial amount of stolen cryptocurrency with a volume in 2GT equivalent to the issuance price of 5 cents and/or equity of the company,” it told its customers in August last year.
“On top of that, we commit to keep looking, at top capacity and as soon as possible, for additional funds to make up for every single one of your cryptocurrencies. That way you’ll be able to get back the totality of your positions, and the equivalent value in 2GT tokens at issuance price.”
Now, after six months since the breach, it announced that it will compensate all its users for the assets they lost due to the hack. 2gether added that a portion of the loss incurred by users has been given back in 2GT, the company’s utility token, and company equity.
Furthermore, as the company was able to secure €1.5M in an equity crowdfunding round led by private investors and partners, it was able to compensate 91 percent of its users in full in BTC and ETH.
“The remaining nine percent with the highest total value of crypto in their accounts are compensated with the best possible solution for each of them—a solution that includes at least the value in euros at the time of the cyber-attack and, in most cases, exceeds that value,” it added.
Commenting on its announcement, Ferraz said:
“Despite the challenges of managing a cyber attack on our platform, 2gether is proud that it compensated its users in the assets that they lost to ensure they don’t lose momentum on the rising value of crypto.”
Additionally, the company has strengthened its security protocols. The investment injection will be used to boost its security, risk management as well as coverage model. Some of its plans include reengineered databases to avoid personal data leaks, upgraded firewalls, VPNs, stronger customer authentication, as well as allocating more resources on key risk management areas, including CISO, systems management, and DevOps.
