Official says US seized cryptocurrency ransom paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers - page 2.

BrewMaster

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Quote from: jaysabi on June 07, 2021, 03:40:02 PM

I'm actually really interested in what they're going to say at the press conference later about how they "seized" the ransom.

if this is indeed real and not some made up story by US government then it is like all the previous times they caught the hackers. these hackers probably had a completely verified coinbase account that they used to send their bitcoins to and got caught.
there are dozens of stories like this so far!!!

Ucy

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Quote from: Kittygalore on June 08, 2021, 02:48:35 AM

Quote from: ulhaq on June 07, 2021, 06:39:51 PM

According to this article they got the hacker's private key: https://californianewstimes.com/us-says-it-has-recovered-large-portion-of-colonial-pipeline-ransom/383269/
Unclear how, but it mentions some servers being seized, so maybe they got access to a physical device. Or perhaps they got malware onto the device or there was a cooperating exchange.

That's actually pretty cool and scary at times because it can help deter the criminal activity in the cryptospace but at the same time when being held by a nefarious hands, this way of seizure could mean that any user in cryptospace is going to be on the cross hairs of that entity and it's only a matter of time.

Wonder what cryptocurrency the hacker really used.
It's actually foolish to do that on Bitcoin, seeing how transparent the network is. And I expect the Bitcoin Network participants to be able to handle the issue successfully without breaking the network rules. If the ransom was paid in something else like physical currency or gold, it would be more difficult to trace and retrieve compared to doing so on a transparent currency like Bitcoin. The activities of security agencies on the network has to be Transparent too or atleast Immutable for the sake of playing according to the rules and accountability. Bitcoin makes it easy for the security agencies , so it's important they reciprocate by being accountable.

Was the private keys really retrieved? I'm interested to know how they did it.

Jawhead999

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It's either conspiracy or his own fault (weak password, not managed properly etc), there's no way FBI could hack the entire blockchain, Bitcoin protocol or even cryptography. Even brute forcing the private keys is almost impossible because there's a lot possibilities of the private keys. This FUDs is really make people scared of Bitcoin, especially for the newcomer that has no idea of Bitcoin itself.

I'm really hope if FBI could sign a messages of the hacker's address and give detailed explanation how they can get the private key, otherwise it's just a rumor.

Similificator

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The way the US seized this crypto currency ransom that was paid to the colonian pipeline hackers are very intriguing. I really cannot think of any possible legal way for them to recover these funds from these hackers except for setting traps with the cooperation of some exchanges. Which is why I am thingking that there really must be something more under the surface than what they are saying because these hackers are not small flies, they are good at what they do. It'll be interesting to know more about this.

bryant.coleman

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Quote from: Gozie51 on June 08, 2021, 08:12:23 AM

I think this information here said FBI probably has the private key but for me, I can't say how they were able to get hold of the private key.

Well.. that is the most important question.

Why should the hackers send the coins to a wallet, that is controlled by FBI. There are all sort of possibilities in play here. My theory goes like this:

The FBI guys arrested an individual or a group of individuals, who were operating a Bitcoin mixer. The arrested individuals shared the details of all their cryptocurrency wallets with the FBI (including the private key). The hackers think that the mixer is still in operation and they send the stolen coins to the wallet, in order to wash them.

But someone in this forum claims that the wallet is linked to the Gemini exchange. In that case, I can't really explain what happened.

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Quote from: jaysabi on June 07, 2021, 03:40:02 PM

I'm actually really interested in what they're going to say at the press conference later about how they "seized" the ransom.

I'm sure we're not going to see the detailed version, so most likely they'll give bits of information with a lot of missing parts to cover their tracks.

Quote from: Darker45 on June 07, 2021, 09:57:33 PM

My hunch is that there was indeed a cooperating exchange.

Quote from: bryant.coleman on June 08, 2021, 07:33:25 AM

In case the hackers sent the coins to an exchange wallet and the exchange handed them over to the FBI, then I would say that the hackers have acted in an idiotic manner.

@JordanSchachtel has posted a lot of interesting tweets recently and in one of them he mentions being a "Coinbase wallet".
^{- I'm still not sure which one is the real reason...}

Quote from: ?? on ??

If the authorities can now get the money back its a huge step.

That's not always the case ^{[unfortunately]}.

Gozie51

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Quote from: bryant.coleman on June 08, 2021, 07:33:25 AM

Quote from: ?? on ??

This is great news and will help a lot to legitimate crypto currencies in the future. Usually people say that cryptos are completely anonymous and that criminals tend to use it for their personal gain. If the authorities can now get the money back its a huge step. Criminals will have to think twice in the future if the really want to use cryptos again. And it gives another layer of security for companies who want to use cryptos.

Just wait until the details are known. We still don't know how the FBI managed to retrieve these coins. In case the hackers sent the coins to an exchange wallet and the exchange handed them over to the FBI, then I would say that the hackers have acted in an idiotic manner. On the other hand, if the FBI had tracked down the hackers somehow and forced them to forfeit the stolen coins, then I would appreciate the FBI. In this case, it would act as a serious deterrent to any such criminal activity in the future.

Quote

As alleged in the supporting affidavit, by reviewing the Bitcoin public ledger, law enforcement was able to track multiple transfers of bitcoin and identify that approximately 63.7 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the victim’s ransom payment, had been transferred to a specific address, for which the FBI has the “private key,” or the rough equivalent of a password needed to access assets accessible from the specific Bitcoin address. This bitcoin represents proceeds traceable to a computer intrusion and property involved in money laundering and may be seized pursuant to criminal and civil forfeiture statutes.

I think this information here said FBI probably has the private key but for me, I can't say how they were able to get hold of the private key.

Quote

“There is no place beyond the reach of the FBI to conceal illicit funds that will prevent us from imposing risk and consequences upon malicious cyber actors,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We will continue to use all of our available resources and leverage our domestic and international partnerships to disrupt ransomware attacks and protect our private sector partners and the American public.”

With the above, the justice department and the FBI seem to have a synergy to go after hackers. We may be having more revelation on this as the day come.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-seizes-23-million-cryptocurrency-paid-ransomware-extortionists-darkside

bryant.coleman

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Quote from: ?? on ??

This is great news and will help a lot to legitimate crypto currencies in the future. Usually people say that cryptos are completely anonymous and that criminals tend to use it for their personal gain. If the authorities can now get the money back its a huge step. Criminals will have to think twice in the future if the really want to use cryptos again. And it gives another layer of security for companies who want to use cryptos.

Just wait until the details are known. We still don't know how the FBI managed to retrieve these coins. In case the hackers sent the coins to an exchange wallet and the exchange handed them over to the FBI, then I would say that the hackers have acted in an idiotic manner. On the other hand, if the FBI had tracked down the hackers somehow and forced them to forfeit the stolen coins, then I would appreciate the FBI. In this case, it would act as a serious deterrent to any such criminal activity in the future.

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Quote from: 20kevin20 on June 08, 2021, 01:00:26 AM

I feel like they're only acting like they can't do that much about it when in fact they have access to way more information than we think they do.

Well said. I've read another news somewhere in the last 12h, which may or may not be related: some international group was caught with the help of an application that was supposed to offer encrypted messaging, but it was actually owned by ~~NSA~~FBI. My point is that I would not rule it out that the hackers were telling the private key to each other via the very same "encrypted messaging" app.

Will now US govt pump Bitcoin back to the prices from the moment the ransom was paid? Grin

Edit: link to the (translated) news is here.

Kittygalore

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Quote from: ulhaq on June 07, 2021, 06:39:51 PM

According to this article they got the hacker's private key: https://californianewstimes.com/us-says-it-has-recovered-large-portion-of-colonial-pipeline-ransom/383269/
Unclear how, but it mentions some servers being seized, so maybe they got access to a physical device. Or perhaps they got malware onto the device or there was a cooperating exchange.

That's actually pretty cool and scary at times because it can help deter the criminal activity in the cryptospace but at the same time when being held by a nefarious hands, this way of seizure could mean that any user in cryptospace is going to be on the cross hairs of that entity and it's only a matter of time.

20kevin20

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Quote from: Kong Hey Pakboy on June 08, 2021, 01:17:04 AM

Also, this seizure doesn't mean that they have got it from the hackers, remember that cryptocurrency can be tainted so I don't think there's nothing for this news.

How else can they get to seize them? The assets have been seized and it appears that the only ones who had access to the funds are the hackers themselves. Tainted or not, this doesn't make the coins more seizable or not.

Kong Hey Pakboy

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That wasa ransomware that they used so that means that they will be paid in cryptocurrency like any other ransomware out there. Also, this seizure doesn't mean that they have got it from the hackers, remember that cryptocurrency can be tainted so I don't think there's nothing for this news.

20kevin20

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I'm not surprised to hear about this and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the gov is doing something perhaps... less legal to get to those funds or to persons such as Ross Ublricht.

I feel like they're only acting like they can't do that much about it when in fact they have access to way more information than we think they do. Anyway, it's funny to think that it's illegal for me to hack someone but it's completely legal for authorities to hack me, lol.

Darker45

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Quote from: ulhaq on June 07, 2021, 06:39:51 PM

Unclear how, but it mentions some servers being seized, so maybe they got access to a physical device. Or perhaps they got malware onto the device or there was a cooperating exchange.

It is less likely that the FBI has gotten access to a physical device used by the hackers. There's a mention that the funds were seized from the Russia-based Dark Side. My hunch is that there was indeed a cooperating exchange. After all, Colonial's CEO has also said that the private sector has played an important role in bringing the cybercriminals to accountability. Moreover, the FBI was also able to track the transfers of ransom funds to a certain wallet. It is possible the wallet has got the private keys and cooperated with the investigation.

TravelMug

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Quote from: ulhaq on June 07, 2021, 06:39:51 PM

According to this article they got the hacker's private key: https://californianewstimes.com/us-says-it-has-recovered-large-portion-of-colonial-pipeline-ransom/383269/
Unclear how, but it mentions some servers being seized, so maybe they got access to a physical device. Or perhaps they got malware onto the device or there was a cooperating exchange.

Really hard to say if they got the private key, but it is really weird if they try to hack back the hackers?

Servers doesn't contained private key, and I believed that the hackers will keep in somewhere safe. So it is really mind boggling, if governments has the ability to track and seized the ransom, then by all means they can get to anyone.

Anyhow, this is clearly an cyber war now against those group of hackers who is targeting, anything, from universities to hospitals to private companies to demand huge amount of money in bitcoins.

ulhaq

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According to this article they got the hacker's private key: https://californianewstimes.com/us-says-it-has-recovered-large-portion-of-colonial-pipeline-ransom/383269/
Unclear how, but it mentions some servers being seized, so maybe they got access to a physical device. Or perhaps they got malware onto the device or there was a cooperating exchange.

jaysabi

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The Associated Press is reporting that US authorities have seized the ransom that was paid to the Colonial Pipeline hackers. Since the payment was made in cryptocurrency, I'm actually really interested in what they're going to say at the press conference later about how they "seized" the ransom.

Quote from: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/official-us-seized-payment-made-pipeline-hackers-78136905

The U.S. government has seized millions of dollars in a cryptocurrency payment made to hackers after a cyberattack that caused the operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline to halt its operations last month.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government has seized millions of dollars in a cryptocurrency payment made to hackers after a cyberattack that caused the operator of the nation's largest fuel pipeline to halt its operations last month, a law enforcement official said Monday.

FBI and Justice Department officials were to disclose the operation at a news conference later Monday. The official was not authorized to discuss the news ahead of the news conference and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline, which supplies roughly half the fuel consumed on the East Coast, temporarily shut down its operations on May 7 after a gang of criminal hackers known as DarkSide broke into its computer system.

Colonial officials have said they took their pipeline system offline before the attack could spread to its operating system, and decided to pay a roughly $4.4 million ransom in an effort to bring itself back online as soon as it could.

The FBI generally discourages the payment of ransom, fearing it could encourage additional hacks.

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