Radiant Capital Taps FBI To Recover Stolen Funds in $50M Crypto Hack

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in the dynamic world of cybersecurity and blockchain, I find myself both intrigued and disheartened by the recent $50 million crypto heist at Radiant Capital. The sophistication of this attack, using advanced malware to compromise hardware wallets during a routine multi-signature adjustment process, is a chilling reminder of how far criminals are willing to go to exploit vulnerabilities in our systems.


Radiant Capital is currently working hand-in-hand with U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the FBI in an attempt to retrieve approximately $50 million USD that was taken during a complex cyber theft which occurred on October 16, 2024. This incident involved the exploitation of several developers’ digital wallets through sophisticated malware attacks, resulting in unauthorized withdrawals of funds.

Responding to this incident, Radiant Capital has alerted the FBI and is collaborating closely with cybersecurity experts to recover the stolen funds and identify the culprits.

Radiant Capital Crypto Hack Methodology and Recovery Efforts

As an analyst examining the recent incident, it appears that the culprits skillfully embedded a complex piece of malware into the hardware wallets of three key team members. This intricate cryptocurrency heist not only tampered with the user interface for transaction validation but also covertly executed harmful transactions behind the scenes.

During regular inspections by both Radiant Capital’s internal staff and external security assessments from companies such as SEAL911 and Hypernative, an anomaly remained unnoticed. Additionally, this incident transpired during a standard multi-signature modification, an operation that is usually considered secure and designed to accommodate shifting market circumstances.

After a security incident, funds worth more than $50 million in USDC, WBNB, and ETH were taken. The attackers found weaknesses in the DAO‘s blockchain contracts on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Arbitrum, which they used to siphon assets from liquidity pools.

To get back the misappropriated funds, Radiant Capital is collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and cybersecurity companies. They have taken steps to scrutinize the digital footprints left by the perpetrators and freeze assets linked to the hacking incident.

Furthermore, the DAO is making improvements to its security measures and multi-signature authentication systems to avoid any potential future hacks or intrusions.

Response and Company Security Enhancements

Following the incident, Radiant Capital has been dedicated to fortifying its security by enhancing protective measures against potential future assaults. For instance, they have adopted stricter multi-tier verification processes for signatures and utilize separate devices to verify transaction details prior to authorization.

To bolster safety even more, the team has added new cold storage wallet addresses on pristine, unbreached devices to minimize risks. The DAO has also fortified both Admin and DAO multisig security by lowering the number of required signers to seven and increasing the confirmation threshold to four. This means that at least 60% agreement is needed for any transaction to be processed. In the coming days, additional safety measures will be implemented in a similar manner on other secure locations.

Furthermore, contributors are now adding an additional level of assurance by validating transaction information via Etherscan’s input data decoder. This extra step strengthens precision and shields against possible mistakes. The DAO anticipates resuming operations in both the Base and Ethereum markets within a short period.

The company is introducing a fresh set of contracts tailored for the impacted markets, which will function under heightened safety protocols. This update aims to bolster our system’s resilience against such threats.

As an analyst, I’m closely monitoring the escalating issue of crypto hacks, and it’s clear that law enforcement is intensifying their efforts to combat this problem. A notable example is the U.S. prosecutors seeking a five-year prison term for Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the 2016 Bitfinex hack that resulted in the theft of approximately $6 billion worth of cryptocurrency.

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2024-10-18 10:38