Crypto company Polynetwork
A hacker stole $ 600 million from you – now you offer him a job
The hacker called only “Mr. Whitehat” was unusually cooperative (symbol image)
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The theft made headlines last week: more than $ 600 million in various cryptocurrencies had been diverted by a hacker to the company Polynetwork through a security breach. Now the story took an unexpected turn.
It was the largest theft in the history of cryptocurrencies: 600 million dollars, the equivalent of almost 510 million euros, had been stolen by a still unknown hacker from the wallets of the crypto company Polynetwork. “It could have been a billion,” he mused. However, a week later, not the prison beckons him, but a reward of half a million dollars. And a new job – as head of security of the stolen company.
This is what Polynetwork announced on Twitter. “We have no plans to have Mr Whitehat prosecuted legally and invite him to become our chief security adviser,” the company’s official account says. What comes as a heavy surprise at first is ultimately a consistent ending for a story full of twists and turns.
“I have enough money”
Because shortly after the theft became known, the hacker himself also commented on it. After the first bragging behavior – the loot could have been even bigger if he had also grabbed the” shitcoin”, i.e. less valuable currencies – the tone soon changed. He was not concerned about money, perhaps he would soon return something, he announced in entries on smaller transfers with the money. And, in fact, soon began to return larger sums of crypto coins to their owners. Meanwhile, most of the money has returned to Polynetwork.
The hacker really seems to have been interested in something other than making as much loot as possible. While most hacks of crypto exchanges are done via stolen credentials, Mr. Whitehat – a reference to the “good” hackers as opposed to the criminal blackhats – had discovered a loophole in the encryption itself. And this now probably reported in detail, so that it is closed. He repeatedly communicated with Polynetwork and also answered questions from other Internet users.
That it was not about money, also shows the handling of the payment that he has already received. “We transferred a reward of 160 ethers, which is about $ 500,000,” Polynetwork already confirmed. But the hacker was already thinking out loud about donating the amount instead of keeping it himself. “I have enough money,” he announced. For the company, this is also fine. “Whatever he’s up to, we don’t mind.”Whether he wants to accept the job offer, the hacker has so far left open.
Source:Twitter, Communication of the hacker
