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FTX Attacker Caught?
Event Review
According to Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit with the federal court last week, accusing three individuals of stealing over $400 million through SIM card swapping. It is speculated that the company in question is the now-defunct FTX exchange.
According to the lawsuit filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, from March 2021 to April 2023, the three defendants carried out SIM card swapping attacks against multiple victims. Although the lawsuit did not disclose the specific victims, Bloomberg today reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that FTX was one of the victims.
According to Bloomberg, the attackers gained access to an AT&T account of an FTX employee using a fake identity, and subsequently unlocked FTX’s online account, allegedly stealing $400 million worth of cryptocurrency.
The prosecutors have charged these three individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and identity theft. The report did not mention where the stolen funds are or the subsequent handling.
After FTX filed for bankruptcy, a substantial amount of assets from FTX and FTX US hot wallet addresses were transferred to an address starting with 0x59abf, with a total transferred asset value of approximately $370 million. Initially, it was thought that these transfers were for the purpose of consolidating funds for future liquidation, but later the team came forward to state that these transfers were not done by the team internally, revealing that the exchange had been hacked.
At the time, founder SBF and former head of institutional sales Zane Tackett both speculated that the attack was an inside job.
