Coinwallet Announces Shutdown Following Data Breach

Coinwallet.co, an online wallet service supporting 83 alternative cryptocurrencies, has announced it is closing due to a data breach that occurred on the 6th of April, 2016.

The official announcement states that a minor error in one of the input forms that should have been monitoring user input did not function properly, which allowed the attacker to make an unauthorized request to the main database.

“Checks were in place but the check was then subsequently not used to block the database call.”

According to the explanation posted by the admins, no funds were lost in the breach as the backup security systems stopped the attackers in their tracks. However, all Coinwallet users have been advised to change their login details on other cryptocurrency portals that use similar login credentials:

“We used encrypted and salted passwords but given enough time these should be assumed compromised.”

While users will not suffer any losses, the breach has given Coinwallet staff sufficient reason to discontinue the service.

The announcement reads:

“This incident prompted us to reassess the viability of running coinwallet.co and it was decided it is just not viable taking into consideration the risk, costs and time involved.”

Users have been instructed to submit withdrawal requests, but staff also explained that withdrawals may take longer due to the overwhelming volume of requests that are likely to follow over the next several days.

Image credit: 1

If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.