Hotbit, the China-based cryptocurrency exchange, has recently experienced a major security breach... and it looks like they will manage to pull through relatively unscathed-- along with their millions of clients.
This is not a drill... please proceed absolutely nowhere and do nothing at all, and you will be notified when the universe has been precisely reassembled. That's what I'm hearing in my head right now, and I imagine it grinding ever so politely out of a PA-system loudspeaker.
Because that's basically what is happening right now. The team at #Hotbit assures us that the attack was thwarted and our funds are indeed safe, but it will take some time to assess and migrate the servers and reconstruct everyone's accounts... over two million users now!
And I'm Clearly One of Them. (Damn it!)
I hate to say that Hotbit (centralized) became one of my main crypto avenues early on, but I really wouldn't be in the position I am now without them. I've learned a lot since then, and things are more spread out. I'm also in the process of consolidating and moving things to my LEDGER device where possible. So more secure, more sophisticated.
And then Hotbit Breaks (on Hive PUD)!
I only throw that detail in because Hotbit is where I buy my HIVE, and I had a pile of it waiting to be moved over and powered up on May 1st... the timing couldn't have been more perfect shitty!
(Breathe... just breathe.
Okay, I'm good.)
I do have to hand it to Hotbit though, actually, for a few different reasons: they stopped the attacker(s) before any serious damage could be done; and they are being commendably clear and honest about the whole ordeal!
They could certainly be handling it with a more elusive and neutral attitude, but they are nipping it in the bud and keeping clients updated every step of the way. So although it's a huge pain in the ass to get locked out of my account for up to two weeks, I really believe they're doing their best to soften the blow.
Hotbit Burned... Then Better?
Let's face it: this isn't the first hack of its kind-- or fatal regulatory attack-- and it won't be the last... and Hotbit survived. I'm a firm believer that survivors of great adversity are in the best position to learn and defend future attacks.
They were already quite active with their maintenance and security updates, so something like this is likely to be a catalyst for a much beefier tech setup-- as their client messaging seems to indicate.
How does that old platitude go? "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Not that I have a choice, but I'm currently betting thousands of dollars worth of #crypto that there's truth to these proverbial expressions. Would I have chosen to be in this position? (Does a bear shit on the Pope's dinner table?)
Obviously not. No, it's far from ideal.
And I will eventually cut the ties to these centralized tools entirely... but until then, I have to be somewhat grateful that I made a wise choice early on with Hotbit. Their most recent Tweet confirms my sentiment, letting us know that the assessment and subsequent fixes are going well.
May 2nd, 2021
— Hotbit (@Hotbit_news) May 2, 2021
01:00 PM UTC The security assessment is passed, Hotbit has started to migrate the transaction server database.
The progress will be updated continuously on a daily basis until the site is fully recovered https://t.co/EMIuKZLov5
So if you're a Hotbit client like me, hopefully this news helps you get a more restful sleep over the next week or so... and then we should be up and rolling again (smarter and stronger than ever).