UK-Based EXMO Exchange is ‘Updating its Anti-Hack Software’ After Suffering a DDoS Attack

EXMO, a leading crypto exchange in Europe, suffered its second attack in less than two months reporting a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on Monday. The exchange has since started to improve its anti-DDOS attack software, warning users the exchange’s services “may be unavailable” during the update, a tweet sent out today reads.

Dear EXMO community, 📢
Due to yesterday’s DDoS attack, we are updating our anti-DDoS software. Please mind that during this time, the exchange may be unavailable. Thank you for understanding.

— EXMO (@Exmo_Com) February 16, 2021

EXMO announced midday on Monday (local time) that their servers were down due to a DDOS attack. Services on the exchange were temporarily unavailable for hours, as the attack affected the company’s entire infrastructure, a spokesperson said. At the time of writing, the exchange is back up running, but some services have been withheld. The spokesperson further added,

“Now everything is running properly. Unfortunately, with a splash in market activity, which undoubtedly drives a positive change, many negative phenomena are back. DDoS, which we’ve faced, is just one of them.”

Important: DDoS attack on EXMO 📢❗️
Please note the EXMO exchange website is now under the DDoS attack. The servers are temporarily unavailable.
We are solving this issue right now. Please stay tuned.

— EXMO (@Exmo_Com) February 15, 2021

DDOS attacks refer to a coordinated malicious effort to disrupt regular traffic to a website. These attacks are becoming more prominent in the crypto industry, with top crypto exchanges such as Binance and BitMEX suffering these attacks recently.

EXMO has been a victim of successive attacks in as many months as hackers stole 6% of the exchange’s crypto assets in December. The hacker made away with $10 million worth of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, XRP, ZEC, USDT, ETC, during the December heist.