BIPS is one of the largest European Bitcoin payment processors. And just last week, they were the victim of a huge Bitcoin heist, which saw them lose 1,295 Bitcoin – currently worth R10 million.

As the Bitcoin exchange rate continues to rise exponentially, cybercriminals are looking to target companies with large holdings of Bitcoins on their servers. This attack on BIPS is just one in a series of cyber-heists – inputs.io allegedly lost around 4,100 Bitcoins, which was also valued at R10 million at the time

The cyber-thieves launched what’s called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on BIPS, and managed to overload their servers long enough to steal the 1,295 Bitcoins from several online wallets.

BIPS later released a statement saying the attack compromised “several consumer wallets.” But it didn’t specify just how many accounts were hacked. BIPS’ CEO Kris Henriksen:

Most of the missing funds were from our company’s own holdings. This is my fifth day without sleep.

After the violent attack, Henriksen told his very own customers to avoid online wallets altogether – the very service BIPS offered. Their online wallet service is now suspended.

Attacks are not isolated to us, and if you are storing larger amounts of coins with any third party, you may want to find alternative storage solutions as soon as possible.

Web Wallets are like a regular wallet that you carry cash in and not meant to keep large amounts in.

[Source : Mashable]