As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the realm of finance and cybersecurity, I’ve seen my fair share of cat-and-mouse games between criminals and law enforcement. The recent takedown of the Holograph hackers by an international coalition of agencies is a testament to the power of collaboration in the digital age.
Based on a recent statement from X, the arrests were made after a thorough two-month probe conducted by an alliance of international law enforcement teams. This collaborative effort, spearheaded by France’s Cybercrime Prevention Office (OFAC), also included the French Anti-Gang Brigade (BRI), Europol, Italy’s Anti-Mafia Investigations Directorate, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS).
Working together, these organizations traced the culprits behind the Holograph hack, an incident that led to the theft of approximately $14.4 million worth of the platform’s cryptocurrency, HLG. The criminals capitalized on a weakness in the contract governing the protocol’s operator, allowing them to mint one billion HLG tokens using a proxy wallet. These tokens, valued around $15 million at the time, were falsely created, causing turmoil in the market.
In just nine hours, the value of HLG tokens fell dramatically, decreasing by approximately 80%, going from $0.014 down to $0.0029.
No Hiding Place
Although they initially managed to breach the system, the culprits have now found themselves in a dead end. As reported, they were captured by French authorities and their allied forces in Italy. Besides the detentions, significant assets and digital gadgets owned by the accused were confiscated. These confiscations are anticipated to yield additional evidence as the probe progresses. Post-arrest, the suspects are expected to be handed over to France, where they will stand trial for their hacking actions.
It’s been disclosed that French officials are readying prosecution for those involved in the cybercrime, with the goal of upholding justice and making a strong statement against future offenders. However, since the investigation is still ongoing, they have decided to keep the identities of the suspects confidential to maintain the case’s integrity and avoid interfering with further investigations.
An Inside Job Attack?
Although the individuals involved in the incident remained undisclosed, there were widespread suspicions within the cryptocurrency community that the attack might have been orchestrated by someone from within their own ranks.
Following the June 13 event, it was uncovered that the attack was masterminded by a dissatisfied previous contractor, as suspected. This information emerged from Halborn, a renowned blockchain investigation company specializing in cybersecurity, whom Holograph enlisted to delve into the incident. On July 2, they published a comprehensive post-mortem report, disclosing that the breach was executed by an individual well-versed in the system’s inner workings.
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2024-08-15 18:22