A hacker has claimed to have successfully hacked into the accounts of a prominent blockchain investor and stolen millions of dollars. The hacker, through a series of tweets of a hijacked Twitter account, claims to have breached the accounts of Bon Shen, one of the leading investors in Blockchain.
Bon Shen founded Fenbushi Capital and is now a popular figure in the cryptocurrency circles. According to reports, the hacker managed to hack into the accounts of She on Augur and ethereum, two of the leading digital currencies in the world today. The hacker then managed to credit his loot and, in so doing, temporarily devalued the dollar against the REP of Augur.
Independent reports indicate that the REP value of Augur has been undergoing repeated devaluations over the recent past. In this particular instance, the REP of Augur fell from the normal rate of 0.0035 BTC to an alarming rate of 0.0026 BTC. 0.0035 BTC is equivalent to $2.6 while 0.0026BTC is equivalent to $1.95.
Separately, Shen has confirmed that indeed, an account associated with this firm has been hacked and an undisclosed amount of money stolen. However, he was quick to deny that he lost up to $1 million as the hacker claimed. Other reports have placed the figure of the amount of money that has been lost at about $300,000. However, it is hard to determine the exact amount of money that Shen lost, given the conflicting information that is emerging and the fluctuating nature of cryptocurrencies.
Series of Attacks
Interestingly, all indications point to the fact that this particular attack is one within a series of well-coordinated attacks that have been experienced in the recent past. Also, going by the statements of this current hacker, it appears that she is part of a hacker group that has perfected the art of targeting users of cryptocurrencies.
In the past few weeks, prominent users of cryptocurrencies have experienced an unprecedented level of hacking attempts. All the hacking attempts have been carried out in a well-coordinated manner, pointing to a clearly organised group.
Attacks Preventable
But what is likely to come as a surprise to many is the allegation that the hackers have been in constant communication with some of the leading developers of Augur. In a series of tweets, the hackers said that they have been asking the developers of Augur to fix apparent flaws in their system.
IF YOU USE CRYPTOS AT ALL, EVER, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE A RECOVERY PHONE NUMBER ON YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT. [5/]
— Jack Peterson (@tensorjack) December 6, 2016
However, the Augur team, while acknowledging that the hackers have been contacting them for the past, we quick to point out that the hackers have been issuing threats and ultimatums to them. Joey Krug, one of the leading developers at Augur, says that the current attack is as a result of the Augur team refusing to bow to the ultimatums and threats that the hackers have been issuing over the past few weeks. However, Augur believes that users of cryptocurrencies can overcome the current hacking menace by taking serious security measures.