The sign of an era - cyber heist

[SGMCF328]

Step aside "The Italian Job", "Ocean's Eleven", "Gone in 60 Seconds", this one beats them all! $25m in 12 seconds, if ever there is a Guinness World Record for fastest heist in history, this would be the one. 

But this case is unlikely to become the plot for a new movie, cos it will be damn boring without showcasing of muscle cars, sexy babes, and exciting car chasing scenes. Hahahaha

 

Two Brothers Arrested For Attacking The Ethereum Blockchain And Stealing $25 Million In Cryptocurrency

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/two-brothers-arrested-attacking-ethereum-blockchain-and-stealing-25-million

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States; and Thomas Fattorusso, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging ANTON PERAIRE-BUENO and JAMES PERAIRE-BUENO with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  The charges in the Indictment arise from an alleged novel scheme by the defendants to exploit the very integrity of the Ethereum blockchain to fraudulently obtain approximately $25 million worth of cryptocurrency within approximately 12 seconds.  ANTON PERAIRE-BUENO and JAMES PERAIRE-BUENO were arrested yesterday in Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York, respectively, and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson for the District of Massachusetts and U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo for the Southern District of New York. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today, my Office indicted two brothers—Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno—for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, all stemming from their alleged scheme to exploit the Ethereum blockchain and to obtain about $25 million worth of cryptocurrency from it.  As we allege, the defendants’ scheme calls the very integrity of the blockchain into question.  The brothers, who studied computer science and math at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, allegedly used their specialized skills and education to tamper with and manipulate the protocols relied upon by millions of Ethereum users across the globe.  And once they put their plan into action, their heist only took 12 seconds to complete.  This alleged scheme was novel and has never before been charged.  But as the Indictment makes clear, no matter how sophisticated the fraud or how new the techniques used to accomplish it, the career prosecutors of this Office will be relentless in pursuing people who attack the integrity of all financial systems.”

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “As alleged in today’s indictment, the Peraire-Bueno brothers stole $25 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency through a technologically sophisticated, cutting-edge scheme they plotted for months and executed in seconds.  Unfortunately for the defendants, their alleged crimes were no match for Department of Justice prosecutors and IRS agents, who unraveled this first-of-its kind wire fraud and money laundering scheme.  As cryptocurrency markets continue to evolve, the Department will continue to root out fraud, support victims, and restore confidence to these markets.”

IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said: “These brothers allegedly committed a first-of-its-kind manipulation of the Ethereum blockchain by fraudulently gaining access to pending transactions, altering the movement of the electronic currency, and ultimately stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency from their victims.  In this case, IRS-CI New York’s Cyber Unit simply followed the money.  Regardless of the complexity of the case, we continue to lead the effort in financial criminal investigations with cutting-edge technology and good-ole-fashioned investigative work, on and off the blockchain.”

[Jamesc]

They gain access into Ethereum and changed the codes?

Is it maybe Ethereum staff password was "password?"

[kobayashiGT]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:12 AM, Jamesc said:

They gain access into Ethereum and changed the codes?

Is it maybe Ethereum staff password was "password?"

woah. commit crime also can go into Guinness World Record. . . hahaha. Come out liao still got fame. 

No scare lah. this 2 brothers go in sit for awhile, come out people will hire them as white hat. hahaha. Catch anyone that can heist faster than them one. 😆

[Jamesc]

So many passwords for so many apps its hard to remember

so I designed this one for MIL!

Now she cannot forget her password when she sees this!

2 444 66666 8888888

[Jamesc]

Then can work for FBI like this humsup pilot, doctor, lawyer!

On 5/20/2024 at 10:16 AM, kobayashiGT said:

woah. commit crime also can go into Guinness World Record. . . hahaha. Come out liao still got fame. 

No scare lah. this 2 brothers go in sit for awhile, come out people will hire them as white hat. hahaha. Catch anyone that can heist faster than them one. 😆

 

Edited May 20, 2024 by Jamesc

[Strat]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:16 AM, Jamesc said:

So many passwords for so many apps its hard to remember

so I designed this one for MIL!

Now she cannot forget her password when she sees this!

2 444 66666 8888888

thot the password is IloveJamesc...😛

[Jamesc]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:32 AM, Strat said:

thot the password is IloveJamesc...😛

MIL uses

jamescDieDieDie4444

[Inlinefour]

my password is unhackable hopefully it is 🤐🤐🤐

[SGMCF328]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:12 AM, Jamesc said:

They gain access into Ethereum and changed the codes?

Is it maybe Ethereum staff password was "password?"

From what stated in the charge sheet, I don't think the account(s) at Ethereum has been compromised, rather the 2 suspects manage to crack the algorithm behind the blockchain of the crypto.

And this is the scary part, with digitalization, will there be a day when some genius manage to break the code (beyond just passwords) and emptied say our CPF or bank account? I don't mind if they could crippled our ERP or COE bidding system though. Hahahaha

[Xers007]

Quote "fraudulently gaining access to pending transactions, altering the movement of the electronic currency"

I guess during the transacting process the cypto or money are manipulated to move to the hacker's account instead to the exchange or the onwer's account.

[Playtime]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:19 AM, Jamesc said:

Then can work for FBI like this humsup pilot, doctor, lawyer!

 

They probably should consider go under FBI umbrella.  

Cos otherwise,  considering the potential, some syndicate may "invite" them to work.