Different exchanges and principals, so it's unlikely. I don't know what BTER uses on the back-end, but unless it is written in Go, I find the likelihood of a co

Different exchanges and principals, so it's unlikely. I don't know what BTER uses on the back-end, but unless it is written in Go, I find the likelihood of a connection to be very small (due to a common vulnerability). On the other hand, if there is a shared vulnerability, it may be in a commonly used library lower in the stack. There is one possible tangential relationship, however. As I've been researching the transactions, early indications point to a portion of the stolen BTC and NBT from Excoin being placed on BTER prior to BTER's announcement. If this is the case, the parties responsble for the Excoin theft may have inadvertently deposited their coins into an exchange that was subsequently pillaged... (Disclosure: I'm a member of the Nu development team, so Excoin's and BTER's exchange problems affect our community)