Massive Theft Of Coins Valerian77
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BitcoinTalk user Valerian77 reported a hacking incident where $1 million USD worth of various cryptocurrencies was stolen. The theft was due to a combination of security failures, including using the same password for different purposes and having the same password for a DASH QT wallet as the password safe. The user was attempting to claim BTCP and BCD using Electrum clients on Windows 10. The hacker likely gained access through a keylogger on a vulnerable system. The victim's mistake of entering seed words into a corrupt BCD wallet exposed the coins. The incident emphasizes the importance of strong, unique passwords, separate email addresses for different accounts, and cautious handling of seed words.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3][4]
About None
"Yesterday in the very early hours of the morning Dec 4th I have been hacked and completely robbed out. The total of 1 Mio USD in different coins have been stolen from my system. I am still pissed off from my own shitty security. But things happened and I cannot go back in time."
"Basically it was a stupid combination of failures. I use Windows 10 and tried to claim BTCP and BCD. Both with the Electrum version for their blockchains. I used the same long password for different things - especially my password safe had the same pw as the DASH QT wallet. So after I started the Electrum clients (which I tested before with Defender, SuperAntiSpyware and www.virustotal.com) I had to do a little thing in DASHQT - that was it - the one of the wallets, most likely BCD, spied my password through a keylogger and the hacker had access to everything. (there is no need to discuss the stupidity of using Win10, same passwords many times, storing 2FA codes in password safes or testing new software on a vulnerable system)"
"Hardware wallet would not have helped.
He entered his seed words into a corrupt BCD wallet, which was also probably keylogging to get his password (he used the same password for multiple programs & websites).
Once a hacker has your seed words, he can steal all your coins right off the blockchain.
And once a hacker has a password that you reuse across multiple programs & websites, he has full access to everything.
And in this case, the victim also kept his 2FA backup codes in a password manager, which the hackers were able to access.
Basically, you have to be ultra-careful about where you enter your seed words.
And for every website & program you use, you should register a different email address/alias & different password. That way, if one password is stolen, the damage is limited."
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| December 3rd, 2018 5:31:00 PM MST | First Transaction | The first transaction moving DASH out of the account. |
Technical Details
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost has been estimated at $1,000,000 USD.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
Individual Prevention Policies
No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.
Platform Prevention Policies
Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.
Regulatory Prevention Policies
No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.
References
- ↑ normal_rc comments on I GOT HACKED AND LOST 1 MILLION (Oct 17, 2022)
- ↑ I GOT HACKED AND LOST 1 MILLION : btc (Aug 23, 2023)
- ↑ I GOT HACKED AND LOST 1 MILLION (Aug 23, 2023)
- ↑ Dash Transaction 4c1d4e4ce74923a974f7d81995965b15b3b3b383e5e2e744799080b6dd3e7b78 (Aug 23, 2023)