A recent incident involving wrongful arrest related to the Bored Ape NFT theft raises significant questions about law enforcement's handling of cybercrime.
Incident Overview
In December 2022, an anonymous attacker stole 14 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, each valued at approximately $86,000 at the time. Cybersecurity researcher ZachXBT reported that he identified the wallet linked to this incident.
Arrest of Sam Curry
In 2023, law enforcement detained Sam Curry, a former security researcher at Yuga Labs, as a suspect in this case. ZachXBT expressed regret that the actual suspect remains at large while a researcher was wrongfully detained.
Conclusions and Recommendations
ZachXBT emphasizes the importance of thorough investigation utilizing social media and on-chain transaction data to uncover real criminals. Law enforcement should review their investigative methodology to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
This wrongful detention case highlights the need for careful online investigations and the use of advanced data analysis methods to combat cybercrime.
