Fortress Trust Loses $12-15 Million in Recent Crypto Hack

Scott Purcell, the founder and CEO of Fortress Trust, a custodian that safeguards customers’ crypto, revealed that his firm lost $12 million to $15 million in a recent hack. The stolen crypto primarily consisted of Bitcoin, but small amounts of USDC and USDT were also taken.

Only a Small Portion of Total Funds

Purcell stated that the amount stolen was only a fraction of the total funds held by Fortress Trust for its customers. Out of 225,000 customers, only four were affected by the hack.

Ripple Reimburses Affected Customers

Ripple, the crypto giant, reimbursed customers impacted by the hack as part of its acquisition of Fortress Trust. Previously, Fortress Trust had claimed that there was no loss of funds. The spokesperson for Ripple declined to comment on the extent of the security breach but mentioned that the funds used to cover customer losses were included in the acquisition deal.

Details of the Hack

Fortress Trust disclosed that four customers were impacted by a third-party vendor whose cloud tools were compromised. However, the affected accounts were fully restored. The acquisition of Fortress Trust by Ripple was announced the following day.

Complex Investigation and Cybersecurity Measures

Purcell mentioned that the initial days after the hack involved the involvement of the FBI, Secret Service, regulators, and cybersecurity teams. The investigation is ongoing to ensure that no other systems were affected. Purcell emphasized that the fault lies with the third-party vendor and not Fortress Trust or its custody partners, Fireblocks or BitGo.

Reactions from BitGo CEO

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe clarified that the incident had nothing to do with BitGo and expressed sympathy for Fortress Trust’s clients. Purcell revealed that BitGo was also a potential acquirer of Fortress Trust but criticized Belshe for violating their non-disclosure agreement.