El Salvador’s bitcoin wallet has suffered a security breach, marking the latest attack on its national crypto program.
Cybercriminal group CiberInteligenciaSV leaked on Tuesday snippets of the wallet’s source code and VPN access information on an online hacking forum. The exploit marks one of the latest attacks against El Salvador’s official Chivo Wallet for bitcoin, which have plagued the program as the prices of some cryptocurrencies sail to two-year highs.
“This time I am bringing you the code that is inside the Bitcoin Chivo Wallet ATMs in El Salvador, remember that it is a government wallet, and as you know, we do not sell, we publish everything for free for you,” CiberInteligenciaSV said Tuesday in its post.
The leak comes several days after the band of cybercriminals published online the personal data of roughly 5.1 million Salvadorans as part of a separate exploit. The hackers released the stolen information to the public to punish the Salvadoran government for refusing to engage with it, according to CiberInteligencia.
It’s unclear what the hackers want to discuss with El Salvador officials.
The Salvadoran government did not immediately reply to The Block’s request for comment.
El Salvador became the first nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, a risky bet intended to offset the economic impact of its local currency’s dwindling value. As part of the initiative, the country launched its Chivo Wallet, an official bitcoin wallet for its nationals, allowing Salvadorans to purchase, sell and store the world’s oldest cryptocurrency.
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