Hacker returns R$19 million in cryptocurrencies after leaving digital footprints at crime scene

Last Friday (10) a DeFi platform was hacked for the second time in its history. As with the first attack, which took place in 2020, the hacker deposited the funds back into the platform.

As reported by live coins, dForce sent a message to the hacker asking them to return the money. In the message, the developers stated that they had discovered the hacker’s IP address and other personal information and threatened to hand it over to the authorities.

Three days later, this Monday (13), dForce announced that the hacker agreed to return the stolen R$19 million, noting that he was a whitehat, that is, a good hacker.

“On February 13, 2023, the stolen funds were returned to us in full [endereço de] multi-signature in Arbitrum and Optimism, a perfect ending for everyone”wrote dForce on Twitter. “Shortly after the incident, we spoke to the hacker, who introduced himself as white hat.”

“We have agreed to issue a reward and will cease all pending investigations and law enforcement actions.”

2/5 Shortly after the incident, we got into a conversation with the exploiter, who reported as a white hat. We have agreed to issue a reward and will cease all ongoing investigations and law enforcement actions.

— dForce (@dForcenet) February 13, 2023

Good hacker or worried about threats?

While dForce claims the hacker had no intention of keeping the money, the threatening message from the DeFi platform may have influenced the thief’s decision. In other words, the digital footprints left by the hacker may have shortened this dispute over funds.

Perhaps such a hacker remembered what happened to his professional colleague, Avraham Eisenberg, who chose to pay back the money in a few days.

For those who don’t remember, Eisenberg exploited a flaw in another DeFi project, Mango Markets, and took home half a billion reais. However, his identity was revealed the day after the hack.

Eisenberg even bet he wouldn’t be arrested, stating that the hack was actually a trading strategy. His apology did not convince the authorities and now the hacker faces up to 40 years in prison.

Therefore, the dForce hacker may have thought about Eisenberg’s story before making the decision to return the stolen money. After all, if the victims actually had personal information about the attacker, the authorities wouldn’t stop him from being accused. The other hypothesis is that he really was a white hat, but the circumstances don’t agree.

Finally, this is dForce’s second attack. By April 2020, the platform had suffered an even bigger attack, worth US$25 million, about R$129.5 million at its current listing.

Just like this time, the hacker sent all cryptocurrencies back to the platform shortly after.