An individual Twitter handle @l3yum recently fell victim to a hacking incident resulting in the theft of 90 Ethereum (ETH), valued at approximately $166,000. The breach occurred on March 16th when the hacker gained access to the victim’s digital wallet seed phrase (a series of 12 or 24 random words that provides the data needed to recover a lost or broken crypto wallet).
Alongside the snatching of various digital assets, including NFTs associated with Yuga Labs and other cryptocurrencies from smaller projects, the hacker swiftly converted or sold these assets.
However, a silver lining has emerged. With the collaborative efforts of law enforcement and cybersecurity experts, the victim took decisive action. By blacklisting the hacker’s digital address, the stolen Ethereum, now valued at $107,306, has been effectively frozen, preventing the hacker from utilizing or transferring these ill-gotten gains. While a complete recovery of the stolen amount is uncertain, there exists a possibility of reclaiming a portion of the funds.
In similar instances, the involvement of Tether, a company overseeing a form of digital currency called USDT, has proven beneficial to victims. In such scenarios, Tether invalidated the stolen USDT held by the hacker and issued an equivalent amount of fresh USDT to the victim. This course of action is generally undertaken following a legal mandate.
Hence, despite the ongoing uncertainty, there is optimism that, with the help of law enforcement, cybersecurity experts, and entities like Tether, the victim stands a chance of recovering a portion of the stolen funds.
A recent report by Todayq News highlights that exploitation by hackers caused crypto losses of around $3.9 billion in 2022, and with the help of law enforcement and cybersecurity experts, 95.6% were successfully recovered. Moreover, more than $3.45 billion lost caused by exploits on crypto exchanges have been found since 2012.
The disclosure of such information is only possible because of the transparency offered by blockchain technology. This technology is so advanced that it can coordinate with stablecoin issuers and crypto exchanges to freeze stolen funds, as this technology records a small number of transactions on the ledger.