Mt. Gox creditors reported unauthorized access attempts to their accounts by hackers in the last 24 hours.
Users claimed that hackers may have been using brute-force techniques, but noted that two-factor authentication (2FA) likely prevented intruders from accessing their accounts.
Some suggested that the incident may have been caused by a system error.
Brute-force attacks involve hackers systematically testing large numbers of passwords or keys until they find the correct password.
Mt. Some users who received notification emails from Gox said they were able to log in, while others claimed they were unable to log in. Mt. Gox is currently in the process of distributing Bitcoin to its creditors.
“I'm guessing some attacker is keeping track of all (or many) Gox emails and trying to force their way in,” Reddit user Joohansson wrote in a comment.
“This has happened before. As long as you have a 2FA you'll 'hopefully' have no problems,” added another commenter.
Currently, Mt. Gox claims that the website is down for maintenance. “Please check back soon,” the website said. Based on comments on the subreddit, the temporary shutdown appears to have occurred after reports of login attempts.
These reported login attempts include the defunct cryptocurrency exchange's Bitcoin, Mt. Gox trustees moving a total of $9 billion worth of Bitcoin payments to Kraken, one of the organizations chosen to distribute them.
Two Japanese exchanges, Bitbank and SBI VC Trade, have already received and distributed their allocated funds, while BitGo and Bitstamp are yet to Mt. Gox did not receive their payment. Mt. Goxxed.org, a website that tracks wallets linked to Gox, reports that the exchange still holds 47,228.73 BTC ($3.05 billion).
*This is not investment advice.
