The loser hacker spent more on cryptocurrency hacking than he stole

The Vertcoin team reported a 51% attack on the blockchain of the project, as a result of which the attacker lost more than he could steal.

According to the developers, November 30, unknownA hacker (or group) used leased computing power to reorganize cryptocurrency blocks and make double expenses. As a result, 603 closed blocks were replaced by 553 new ones, which brought the attacker 13825 VTC total cost of about $ 3200, as well as double spending on 125 VTC.

Such an operation cost the unknown from $ 3,600 to $ 7,200, depending on market conditions for the lease. As a result of the attack, the hacker suffered a loss of $ 400 to $ 4,000, respectively.

The project team was not able to understand whichthe target was pursued by the attacker, since his actions did not bring profit. However, it was suggested that the target could be Bittrex, which is the main trading platform for Vertcoin. Therefore, they turned to the exchange with a request to cancel trading pairs with VTC and close the wallet, which, apparently, was the main reason for the cessation of the attack.

However, the crypto industry also attracts more successful criminals. For example, the recent hack of the GateHub wallet database put the security of 1.4 million users at risk.

text: Ivan Malichenko, photo: fundera