Crypto crooks compromise server to pilfer $400,000 worth of Stellar Lumen

HACKERS HAVE NICKED $400,000 (around £290,000) of virtual currency Stellar Lumen from web-based wallet BlackWallet.

The cyber crims managed to hijack the server which hosts BlackWallet and swiped 669,920 Lumens from user accounts.

Bleeping Computer reports that BlackWallet had tried to warn its users that the server had been compromised, but many continued to log into their accounts and subsequently lose money; we guess the lure of valuable cryptocurrency is too strong to heed caution.

The creator of BlackWallet took to Reddit to explain that they'd disabled the hosting account and websites and apologised for the hack attack.

"I am sincerely sorry about this and hope that we will get the funds back," said the developer going by the name of 'Orbit84'.

"I am in talks with my hosting provider to get as much information about the hacker and will see what can be done with it.

"If you ever entered your key on BlackWallet, you may want to move your funds to a new wallet."

While Stellar Lumen is not the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, it's the eight most popular virtual currency. So the cyber thieves so far appear to have the got away with the hacking heist and could go on a spending spree with their ill-gotten gains.

That being said, they are most likely to convert the stolen funds into another digital currency to help hide their tracks and ensure they get away with the crime.

Given there is currently a lot of furore around the turbulent value of Bitcoin and newer cryptocurrencies like Ripple, we'd not be surprised to see more people invest in the virtual currencies.

This would likely mean that more of such crypto crimes are likely to pop up as 2018 marches onward. µ

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• Topics
• Security
• cryptocurrency
• Hacking
• Security