Privacy protocol Umbra shuts front end to stifle Kelp exploiters

Privacy-focused crypto protocol Umbra said it has taken down its front-end website to make it more difficult for hackers who have been using it to move funds from recent “high-profile hacks.”

Umbra posted to X on Tuesday that it is aware that around $800,000 worth of stolen funds was moved via its protocol.

It added that it made the decision to move the hosted version of its front end into maintenance mode and would restore it “as soon as we are assured that doing so won't create obstacles to the current recovery efforts.”

It comes just days after the Kelp protocol was exploited for over $280 million, which is suspected to have been carried out by North Korean hackers. Recent reports pointed to Umbra as among the protocols that the exploiter has been attempting to bridge funds from Ether to Bitcoin.

North Korean hacking groups are heavily sanctioned by the US, and multiple crypto platforms have worked to freeze or stifle the hackers’ efforts to move the funds.

Source: Umbra

Umbra said, however, that there was “nothing we can do” to stop anyone from using its smart contracts or a local or self-hosted version of its open-source front end.

Roman Storm warns front end freeze isn’t enough

Roman Storm, co-founder of the crypto mixer Tornado Cash, argued the move to pause the front end may not be enough to avoid ire from authorities.

Storm was convicted in August of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, despite arguing that he was not in control of how the protocol was used.

“Prosecutors in my case called me a liar when I said that I can’t control Tornado Cash,” said Storm, who beat charges of conspiring to violate US sanctions.