Over $1.5 million worth of bitcoin stolen from general bytes BTC ATMs

According to a press release, Bitcoin ATM manufacturer General Bytes experienced a security incident between March 17 and 18 that allowed a hacker to gain access to its database.

The hacker remotely uploaded the Java application through the main service interface and ran it using the BATM user rights. The firm described the severity of this breach as “highest.”

General Bytes said the incident allowed the attacker to access funds in hot wallets and exchanges, send funds from hot wallets, steal usernames and passwords, and disable two-factor authentication. It added that its cloud services were broken up with other operators’ standalone servers.

The company urged users to take immediate action to protect their funds and personal information. It wrote:

“We encourage all our customers to take immediate steps to protect their funds and personal information and carefully read the security bulletin listed here.”

The amount of information the attacker stole was unclear at press time. Meanwhile, the company said it was temporarily shutting down its cloud services as a precaution. The company’s ATMs in the US are said to have also been closed.

Over $1.5 million bitcoin stolen

According to on-chain data, a wallet used in the attack contains 56 BTC – worth over $1.5 million – received around the time of the attack. Etherscan data showed the attacker also moved around 21.79 Ethereum ($39,043) through the Uniswap decentralized exchange (DEX).

Per General Bytes, other wallets used by the hacker during the attack belonged to digital assets such as XRP, BUSD, Cardano, DAI, DogeCoin, Shiba Inu, Tron, etc.

The total amount of crypto the attacker stole was unclear at press time.

General Bytes releases security fix

General Bytes has released a security fix for the incident and has encouraged users to implement the fix it wrote. According to the firm, users must upgrade their servers and invalidate all passwords, API keys and hot wallets.

This is not the first time General Bytes has experienced a breach. In August 2022, the company reported a hack that led to the theft of deposited Bitcoins in ATMs. At the time, the company said about $16,000 was stolen by the hackers.

Meanwhile, General Bytes is one of the best Bitcoin ATM manufacturers. The company has sold over 15,000 machines in more than 149 countries.