The US government is reportedly have been defrauded of $20 million in cyptocurrency in shocking cyber extortion by a famous hacker. Discovered by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, this became the largest attack on government-linked crypto wallets.
In a recent blog post on X, previously a platform, named as Twitter, Arkham Intelligence conveyed, “Another US Government linked address seem to have been scammed for $20 million.” Arkham states this wallet was connected to past asset takedowns and has reportedly been partly emptied out already with more than $20 million worth of cryptocurrency moved to another address, believed to belong to the hacker. The occurrence raises an essential issue in information security and has led to further investigations.
US Government Loses $ 900,000 in Crypto Wallet Hack
It appears that the hacked wallet remains active up to date, with the address 0xc9E6…C34, holding $14.23 Billion worth of crypto investments. However, part and parcel of the content of these hackers, including USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), aUSDC, and Ethereum (ETH), has been stolen by the hacker, though, but not in a legal manner. In particular, Arkham Intelligence recognized the wallet as a container of the funds belonging to the government and associated with the hacking of Bitfinex.
Taking into account this analysis by Arkham, the stolen funds came from “USG seized funds linked to the Bitfinex hackers from 9 separate USG seizure addresses.” Among the addresses mentioned in the corporate documents pertaining to the case of Bitfinex, the particular one 0xE2F699AB099e97Db1CF0b13993c31C7ee42FB2ac was reported to transfer assets to the compromised wallet.
Blockchain security expert Jonathan Mills said, “This is rather shocking.” It exposes them even to government-linked and regulated wallets.”
This unexpected hack raises new questions about US government’s crypto storage practices. Even while utilizing financially secured wallets, the fact that such types of compromise of security are always possible raises a lot of concerns on the level of security that exists to guard huge crypto assets.
Flow of Stolen Assets
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The suspicious transaction which took place involved several alt-coins, which included millions of their respective value. In fact, as Arkham Intelligence estimated, a massive $13.70 million in a USDC were shifted from the government wallet in one of the first tangible transactions identified. This was soon succeeded by another $5.45 million in USDC. The same can be said for the sale, which was identified as involving $1.125 million in USDT and 177.892 ETH, which, according to the current rate, is approximately $446,920.
The hacker has initially cashed out some amount in ETH thus raising questions on money laundering. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham pointed out the attacker “has started to transfer the funds to ETH” and the money is being wired to “suspicious addresses associated with a money laundering service.” According to experts, it may have taken several anonymous wallets to achieve the ultimate goal of money laundering.
The Government’s Response and Investigation
Currently, the US government has not reacted to the act, and it is still not evident the extent of damage the hacker is capable of. It was actually expected that federal agencies, potentially with the help of blockchain tracking companies, are already looking into the breach in an effort to reclaim the lost funds.
The identity of the hacker remains undetermined, but some of the researchers assumed that the person behind the attack could be associated with the previous large-scale cryptocurrency thefts. This case raises awareness of the present issue of protecting digital properties even for governmental companies and stress the necessity of better security mechanisms.
Cybersecurity expert Michael Foster said, ‘The government is most likely hesitant to comment because it is still conducting investigations that may involve top national security concerns.’ Nevertheless, cases such as this serve a harsh lesson that with decentralisation, even when implementing relatively safe technology, risks remain.”
Final Take on US Government Crypto Nightmare
An infamous hacker has stolen $20 million from a US government crypto wallet, exposing vulnerabilities in government-linked wallets. The breach, discovered by Arkham Intelligence, involved multiple alt-coins and raised concerns about money laundering. Experts suspect the hacker may be linked to previous large-scale cryptocurrency thefts. The government’s investigation is ongoing, highlighting the need for enhanced security measures to protect digital assets, even in regulated wallets. Keep following TheBITJournal and keep an eye on US government next move to identify major hack.
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