WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a $235 million hack last year. Earlier this week, Japan, South Korea and the US issued a joint statement, blaming North Korea and its Lazarus Group for the hack. In a latest, the Delhi High Court has sought responses from the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and other relevant parties, reports Economic Times.
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This development follows a petition calling for the creation of a special investigation team (SIT) to examine alleged cyberattacks on WazirX and address other concerns linked to its operations.
WazirX will have to pay money if at fault: Judge
The petition raises serious questions about the platform’s security infrastructure and its ability to safeguard users from potential cyber threats. Along with cyberattacks, the plea also highlights broader operational issues associated with WazirX, urging the court to take a closer look at its practices.
Justice Sachin Datta, while hearing the case, remarked that WazirX would be held financially responsible if the breach was due to its own fault. He emphasized that if the attack came from the dark web, the platform couldn’t simply apologize and avoid accountability.
“If someone from the dark web breached your platform, you cannot say sorry…I am curious to know if the government will wash its hands off in its affidavit,” the judge said.
The report further states that the RBI has informed the court that it would not regulate platforms like WazirX, a stance that Justice Sachin Datta called “unfortunate.” The judge expressed concern, questioning, “You (RBI) may turn a blind eye to crypto, it could threaten the financial system of the country. What are you doing to regulate that”.
Last week, Justice Datta issued similar notices to the RBI and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), among others, in response to a petition highlighting serious concerns about a financial crisis allegedly affecting users of the BitBNS cryptocurrency exchange. BitBNS came under scrutiny after users reported issues with frozen withdrawals, prompting a petition calling for stricter cryptocurrency regulation and an investigation into the exchange’s operations.
