Update on Feb. 2023 Neo migration service security breach

Neo has made progress in addressing the security breach that occurred on Feb. 8, 2023, involving unauthorized token transfers from the N3 migration service. As a result, tokens from one of the three addresses used by the attacker have been recovered.

The attacker, who surfaced on Feb. 13, 2023 demanding a ransom, verified their involvement by sharing the private key for one of the addresses. Since the breach, Neo Global Development has continued efforts to secure the network and recover lost assets. By April 15, 2024, using the private key provided by the attacker, NGD successfully reversed the unauthorized transactions. This operation restored tokens including fUSDT, FLM, fwBTC, fwETH, and pONT, facilitating resumption of the pending migrations.

The Feb 2023 incident involved the illicit transfer of approximately 3.4 million NEO, 730,000 GAS, and various NEP-17 tokens, leading the Neo Council to block the implicated addresses to prevent further misuse. The breach had prompted a temporary pause in the migration service, which was resumed with enhanced security measures to safeguard user assets and ensure the integrity of the ecosystem.