Hacker Robs Twister Money, Launders Loot By way of the Identical Service

In a shocking flip of occasions, the hacker accountable for the Twister Money heist has unexpectedly handed again management of the protocol to the workforce. 

Including to the irony, the prison utilized the exact same service to launder the funds stolen throughout the assault.

Twister Money, which has lengthy been related to aiding cybercriminals and facilitating cash laundering for entities like North Korean hackers, now finds itself caught within the net it helped weave.

In the course of the current breach, the hacker made off with a staggering 483,000 TORN tokens, subsequently changing a good portion of the loot into ETH on the protocol.

How The Hacker Hijacked Twister Money, Stole Tokens, and Laundered Stolen Funds

On Could 21, a hacker exploited a vulnerability in Twister Money governance which must be beneath the group’s management. 

The incident report exhibits that the hijacker took management of the crypto mixer whereas looting 483,000 TORN cash. 

A blockchain researcher Samczsun revealed the hacker shared a malicious governance proposal to be voted on. 

That helped the hacker acquire management of the protocol, permitting them to withdraw the tokens within the governance contract. 

In keeping with Nansen, the hacker transformed the stolen tokens to Ether earlier than laundering 472 ETH price round $900,000 by way of Twister Money.

However, unusually, the hacker relinquished energy after contacting the Twister Money group.

The incident affected TORN token’s worth, which sank to $4 from over $7, in line with CoinGecko data. 

Nonetheless, the token has proven resilience and is now displaying indicators of a rebound, progressively gaining momentum and transferring in the direction of restoration. It’s at present buying and selling barely above $4, though nonetheless exhibiting a bearish pattern.

Twister Money Infamous For Aiding Unlawful Transactions And Cash Laundering

Twister Money’s skill to supply privateness, almost untraceable nameless crypto transactions makes it your best option for cash launderers.

As such, it grew to become notorious because the go-to platform for cyber-criminals and hackers trying to launder their unlawful funds.

That has introduced backlashes on the protocol as a number of criminals, together with North Korean hackers, exploit its privateness choices to maneuver their loot. 

In keeping with Dune Analytics data, criminals have laundered over $8 billion by way of Twister Money since 2019. 

That exhibits the variety of illegal transactions the platform has aided through the years.

In August 2022, the Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) of the US Treasury Division sanctioned Twister for violating anti-money laundering legal guidelines and aiding unlawful transactions.

The US Treasury mentioned Twister Money helped North Korean hackers, the Lazarus Group, course of over $455 million in stolen funds from heist assaults. 

The OFAC additionally alleged that criminals laundered over $7 billion in digital property with Twister Money since its creation in 2019.

Regardless of the general public sentiment and the US Treasury sanction on Twister, the protocol stays a money-washing route for criminals.