Crypto Heist Of Epic Proportions Steals Half A Billion Dollars
In what will go down as one of the greatest crypto heists in history, hackers have stolen more than half a billion dollars from the Ronin Network. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this unique hack is it took nearly an entire week to determine the breach occurred. The hackers appear to have deposited the stolen money to Crypto.com and FTX accounts.
CoinDesk’s Leadership Comments On The Crypto Heist
Pete Pachal, the chief of staff of CoinDesk, has described the crypto heist as one of the most significant hacks in the industry’s history. Pachal noted the Ronin Network’s information detailing the digital security breach reveals the potential for a digital infiltration heightened when the gaming group shifted away from strictly providing crypto products. Pachal made the comments during his appearance on “Mornings With Maria”, the day after the crypto heist was publicized.
A Mammoth Financial Loss
All in all, the Ronin Network crypto heist amounted to more than $625 million lost. The money lost was in the United States dollars as well as ether. CoinDesk reported these figures, highlighting that the attack compromised the network’s validator nodes used for the publishing of the company’s games ranging from Sky Mavis to DAO and Infinity.
How Did The Hackers Pull Off The Crypto Heist?
The digital miscreant responsible for the crypto heist hacked private keys to spur phony withdrawals. The details of the hack were highlighted in a recent blog post published by Ronin Network earlier this week. Though the network had the necessary digital safeguards in position to prevent such a hack, the hacker weaseled his way inside to steal the funds.
Pachal highlighted the fact that the successful hack proves the blockchain is not impenetrable. To be more specific, Pachal insists certain blockchains are more secure than others. The executive noted that the digital attack was primarily focused on the Axie Infinity network rather than the primary blockchain such as Ether or Bitcoin, both of which are considered comparably secure.
Pachal also went out of his way to note that a considerable portion of the money stolen in the hack of Poly Network was “reversed”, meaning those who rightfully owned the crypto were received their original funds.
What Happens Now?
The blog post published by the Ronin network noted the group will work hand-in-hand with law enforcement as well as the company’s investors and forensic cryptographers to ensure all of the funds in question are obtained. Furthermore, the Ronin Network will also provide reimbursement to those who lost money. Those who hold crypto and those considering dabbling in cryptocurrency investing will be relieved to learn federal authorities have been putting the clamp down on hackers in recent month.
The Feds have put charges on those responsible for the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack. Furthermore, the Department of Justice recently announced two individuals were arrested for conspiring to launder stolen crypto valued at nearly $5 billion. The Department of Justice noted law enforcement had seized in excess of $3.5 billion of crypto tied to that digital infiltration.
The moral of this story is crypto companies and federal investigators are perfecting the art of tracing the transfer of crypto after hacks. Though additional hacks might succeed in the future, the vast majority will be in vain as authorities are capable of tracking the movement of stolen crypto and piecing together the puzzle of hacker identities.
