The hacker responsible for stealing $27 million in cryptocurrency from the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Penpie received praise from another hacker recently.
Penpie Hack and Hacker's Actions
On Sept. 3, Penpie suffered an exploit, losing digital assets worth $27 million. In response, the DeFi platform suspended deposits and withdrawals. Less than a day after the hack, the Penpie hacker sent $7 million in assets to the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
Message from Another Hacker
Following the hack, the exploiter responsible for the $195 million flash loan attack on Euler Finance in March 2023, sent an onchain message to the Penpie hacker, praising the decision not to return the stolen funds. He wrote: "Good job bro. I didn’t see a hack like this for a while. I’m happy you kept all the money and didn’t let these bastards get back one dollar of what you took. You won, they lost. Good job." However, the Euler Finance hacker was unsuccessful in achieving the same outcome. The protocol sent an onchain message to the criminal, offering a chance to keep about $20 million if 90% of the stolen funds were returned. The protocol also threatened the hacker with a $1 million reward for information leading to an arrest. On April 4, the Euler Finance hacker returned all recoverable funds, totaling 90% of the hacked amount, and the Euler Foundation stopped its $1 million reward campaign.
Increase in Phishing Attacks in August
In August, over 9,000 victims lost about $63 million to crypto phishing scams. While the number of victims dropped compared to July, the amount stolen increased by 215%. Most of the stolen amount was attributed to one large-scale attack that led to a $55 million loss. On Aug. 20, a wallet owner signed a malicious transaction, transferring ownership of 55 million Dai (DAI) to scammers.
These incidents highlight the growing threat of hacks and phishing attacks in the cryptocurrency space, emphasizing the need for increased security measures to protect digital assets.
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