Tag Archive for: arrest

Decoding The Avraham Eisenberg Arrest And Its Impact On Crypto Bug Bounties, White Hat Hackers

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The arrest of Avraham Eisenberg has sparked an interesting debate regarding the role of white hat hackers and bug bounty programs in the security of the DeFi ecosystem. This is because Eisenberg eventually returned most of the loot and his exploit also shed light on vulnerabilities within the Mango Markets protocol. These are all the markings of a white hat hacker.

Avraham Eisenberg, the crypto trader responsible for the $110 million Mango Markets exploit, was arrested in Puerto Rico on Monday, December 26. This is after the US Department of Justice accused Eisenberg of commodities fraud and manipulation. If convicted, he could be slapped with heavy fines, possibly even jail time.

The arrest has sparked an interesting debate regarding the role of white hat hackers and bug bounty programs in the security of the DeFi ecosystem. This is because Eisenberg eventually returned most of the loot and his exploit also shed light on vulnerabilities within the Mango Markets protocol. These are all the markings of a white hat hacker.

What is a white hat hacker?

White hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers, are computer security experts who use their skills to identify and fix vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks. In the context of cryptocurrency, white hat hackers may be hired by cryptocurrency exchanges, wallet providers, and other companies in the industry to test the security of their systems and help prevent cyber-attacks.

They may also be independent security researchers who discover and report vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency-related systems to improve security in the industry. White hat hackers are distinguished from “black hat” hackers, who use their skills for malicious purposes such as stealing sensitive data or spreading malware.

In many instances, white hat hackers carry out an exploit and then return most of the funds, only holding onto a small chunk of the loot as a fee for uncovering a vulnerability. This is way better than losing all the funds to bad actors or hacking outfits like North Korea’s Lazarus Group that uses ill-gotten funds to fuel their weapons program.

Also, sometimes it is necessary to carry out the exploit to verify the legitimacy of a vulnerability….

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London Police Arrest Teen Hacking Suspect, Have Not Confirmed GTA 6 Leak Link

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London police have arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of hacking and some have speculated that it has something to do with the Grand Theft Auto VI leaks. Last weekend, 90+ videos of GTA 6 footage were posted on the GTAForums before it spread across the rest of the internet. Although some were doubtful it was real given Rockstar Games‘ immense secrecy, it became evident fairly quickly that the footage was authentic and this was the first look at the highly anticipated game. The leaker in question claimed to have been responsible for a hack on both Rockstar Games and Uber. Rockstar Games issued a statement on Monday morning confirming that it had a security breach and that the leaked footage was indeed real. Shortly after this, Uber reported that it was working with the FBI and US Department of Justice to find the hacker.

London City Police announced on Twitter on September 23rd that it had arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of hacking as part of an investigation conducted by the National Crime Agency’s Cyber Crime Unit. The teen is currently in custody, though no specifics have been given. Although there’s been rumors and intense speculation prior to the arrest that the hacker was a teen operating out of the UK, London police have not confirmed any link between the two cases. ComicBook reached out to London police for more information and received this brief statement: “We have no further information to share at this stage. Any updates will be shared on our Twitter.” We also reached out to Rockstar Games, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

As of right now, it remains to be seen what will come of this. Rockstar Games has already confirmed that it doesn’t expect any long term disruption to the development of the next Grand Theft Auto, so fans don’t have to worry about the game being internally delayed by years. We still have…

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Spanish Police Arrest Alleged Radioactive Monitoring Hackers

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Police in Spain have arrested two people on suspicion of hacking the country’s Radioactivity Alert Network (RAR).

The RAR, operated by Spain’s General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies, is a network of gamma radiation sensors. It monitors parts of Spain – which operates nuclear power plants – for excessive radiation.

The two individuals are former workers for a third-party contractor responsible for maintaining the system, said Spanish police. It accused them of disabling over a third of the sensors in an attack between March and June 2021.

The Directorate warned police of the attack in June 2021, and the National Police Cyberattacks group analyzed the operation. The hackers compromised the RAR management’s computer system, allegedly operating from a public hospitality network in Madrid. They attempted to delete the RAR management web application and also attacked over 300 of the network’s 800 sensors, the police said.

“They had a deep knowledge [of the system] that made it easier for them to carry out the attacks and helped them in their efforts to mask their authorship, significantly increasing the difficulty of the investigation,” said police in a statement (translated).

The police did not elaborate on the motive for the attack. However, the attack caused the sensor connections to fail, reducing the ability to detect radiation around some of the country’s nuclear power plants.

“While it’s great to see that the Spanish police took the cyber-attack against the country’s radioactivity alert network (RAR) extremely seriously, it should also serve as a stark reminder of the need to secure cyber-physical devices within the critical infrastructure industry,” said Simon Chassar, CRO at industrial cybersecurity company Claroty.

“Cyber-physical devices such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and Industrial IoT (IIoT), are not always designed with security in mind, meaning they can have a number of vulnerabilities for threat actors to exploit.”

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Bronx T-Mobile store workers use merchandise security tags to help NYPD track and arrest armed robber in Manhattan – New York Daily News

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Traceable electronic security tags on merchandise stolen from a Bronx cell phone store helped cops track down an armed robber after a wild chase Saturday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police said.

Two armed men ransacked a T-Mobile location on E. 149 St. near Union Ave. in Woodstock about 3:20 p.m., cops said.

One of the men fled on foot while the other drove off with the stolen goods in a gray BMW.

(File) Two armed men ransacked the T-Mobile location on E. 149 St. near Union Ave. in the Bronx on Saturday — and cops nabbed one of them with help from store workers and merchandise tracking devices. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

Quick-thinking store employees began tracking the stolen electronics through security tags the thieves overlooked, police said.

Aided by the store workers and the trackers, cops followed the trail to the Upper East Side, where they soon found the BMW.

When they tried to pull over the car at E. 96 St. and Third Ave., the driver hit the gas, ramming a police vehicle as he tried to escape.

The crook made it just three blocks east when responding officers stopped the BMW on the southbound FDR Drive at E. 96 St.

The suspect ditched the BMW, ran one block up the highway, and tossed something into the East River before cops put him under arrest.

One of the arresting officers injured his wrist during the struggle.

The robber’s name and charges against him were not immediately released. His partner in crime was still being sought late Saturday.

The NYPD’s Harbor Unit and Aviation Unit were searching for the object he threw in the water Saturday evening.

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