Brother
Professional
- Messages
- 2,590
- Reaction score
- 539
- Points
- 113
The story of how two brothers who stole millions escaped responsibility.
A French court has released two brothers responsible for stealing $8.5 million from the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Platypus, without any consequences.
On February 16, hackers were able to withdraw and move $8.5 million from Platypus using a flash credit attack, which forced the protocol to suspend trading services until a solution was found. A flash loan attack — Flash Loans) is a type of fraud that involves obtaining a quick loan without collateral, which artificially raises the price of a digital coin, and then dumping the cryptocurrency with a profit.
With the help of Binance's security team and independent cryptocurrency researchers, it was possible to track down the stolen funds, which led to hackers: Mohammed and his brother Benamar M. The brothers were in custody since February 24, and at a court hearing on October 26, they confessed to theft and money laundering, but said that they were white hackers and acted with good intentions. Cybercriminals claimed that their goal was to exploit gaps in the system and later return assets in exchange for 10% of the stolen money.
Given the similarity to the attempt to receive a reward for discovering vulnerabilities, the court fully acquitted the brothers of all criminal charges. During the attack, €7.8 million in tokens became unavailable after being stuck in the wallet.
According to the results of an investigation by blockchain security firm CertiK, the attack on October 12 was carried out in 3 stages, each of which stole $2.23 million, $575 thousand and $450 thousand in various cryptocurrencies, respectively. On October 17, Platypus was able to recover 90% of the stolen data after an agreement with the hacker.
This case highlights the inherent risks in the DeFi system, where automation and smart contracts can be exploited. The justification in this case raises questions about the limits of ethical hacking and its role in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
A French court has released two brothers responsible for stealing $8.5 million from the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Platypus, without any consequences.
On February 16, hackers were able to withdraw and move $8.5 million from Platypus using a flash credit attack, which forced the protocol to suspend trading services until a solution was found. A flash loan attack — Flash Loans) is a type of fraud that involves obtaining a quick loan without collateral, which artificially raises the price of a digital coin, and then dumping the cryptocurrency with a profit.
With the help of Binance's security team and independent cryptocurrency researchers, it was possible to track down the stolen funds, which led to hackers: Mohammed and his brother Benamar M. The brothers were in custody since February 24, and at a court hearing on October 26, they confessed to theft and money laundering, but said that they were white hackers and acted with good intentions. Cybercriminals claimed that their goal was to exploit gaps in the system and later return assets in exchange for 10% of the stolen money.
Given the similarity to the attempt to receive a reward for discovering vulnerabilities, the court fully acquitted the brothers of all criminal charges. During the attack, €7.8 million in tokens became unavailable after being stuck in the wallet.
According to the results of an investigation by blockchain security firm CertiK, the attack on October 12 was carried out in 3 stages, each of which stole $2.23 million, $575 thousand and $450 thousand in various cryptocurrencies, respectively. On October 17, Platypus was able to recover 90% of the stolen data after an agreement with the hacker.
This case highlights the inherent risks in the DeFi system, where automation and smart contracts can be exploited. The justification in this case raises questions about the limits of ethical hacking and its role in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
