Bitcoin ATM maker General Bytes says it is reimbursing cloud-hosted customers who lost funds in a “security incident” in March that saw customers’ hot wallets accessed.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the ATM manufacturer issued a statement about the security incident on March 17 and March 18, which involved hackers uploading a Java application to the terminal and gaining access to sensitive information, such as passwords, private keys and funds. from the hot wallet.
In a recent statement to Cointelegraph, the ATM manufacturer said it has since moved quickly to “resolve the situation” and has made a decision to refund a “cloud-host customer who has lost funds.”
On March 17-18, 2023, GENERAL BYTES experienced a security incident.
We are issuing a statement urging our customers to take immediate action to protect their personal information.
We urge all customers to take immediate action to protect their funds and https://t.co/fajc61lcwR…
– PUBLIC BYTES (@public bytes) March 18, 2023
“We have taken immediate steps to prevent unauthorized access to our systems and are working hard to protect our customers,” General Bytes said in a statement.
It is understood that the hack led to at least 56 BTC, worth more than $1.5 million at current prices, and 21.82 ETH, $37,000 at current prices, stored in a wallet connected to the hacker.
According to General Bytes, it has thoroughly assessed the damage of the hack and has “worked tirelessly” to improve security measures and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Along with refunding affected customers, the ATM manufacturer also said it is encouraging all customers to move to a hosted server installation, where they can effectively secure their server platform using a VPN.
“We are investing heavily in additional human resources to help our clients migrate their existing infrastructure to a self-hosted server installation.”
According to General Bytes, the hack did not affect most ATM operators using hosted server installations “because these customers use VPN technology to protect their infrastructure.”
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The ATM manufacturer first warned customers about the hacker in a March 18 patch release bulletin. As a result of the security breach, General Btyes shut down its cloud services.
“General Bytes takes the security of our customers’ funds and data very seriously. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and remain committed to serving our customers with integrity and professionalism.”
The company is based in Prague and according to its website has sold more than 15,000 Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs to buyers in more than 149 countries around the world.