DOJ Charges Trio Behind $400 Million SIM Swap Attack on FTX

8 months ago

The United States Department of Justice has charged 3 individuals accused of masterminding the SIM-swapping onslaught that siphoned implicit $400 cardinal from FTX. The indictment of the trio appears to undercut claims that incarcerated FTX laminitis Sam Bankman-Fried was the mastermind down the hack.

FTX’s Lax Security

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled charges against 3 individuals allegedly progressive successful a SIM-swapping pack liable for siphoning $400 cardinal from the cryptocurrency speech FTX. The heist occurred instantly aft FTX filed for bankruptcy. According to an indictment filed successful a Washington court, the trio illicitly obtained accusation connected 50 victims.

The accused — Robert Powell, Emily Hernandez, and Carter Rohn — past exploited this stolen accusation to deceive mobile telephone companies. By doing so, they managed to reroute the victims’ telephone numbers to a dummy device. The indictment of the trio meantime appears to undercut claims that incarcerated FTX laminitis Sam Bankman-Fried was the mastermind down the hack.

Described arsenic a benignant of relationship takeover fraud that mostly targets a weakness successful two-factor authentication and two-step verification, SIM-swapping attacks person been connected the rise.

In a caller report, cybersecurity steadfast Stroz Friedberg Digital Forensics highlights a concerning inclination — an summation successful SIM-swapping attacks crossed divers industries. Notably, these attacks person of precocious seemingly targeted cryptocurrency and crypto-adjacent companies

According to the Bloomberg report, the trio targeted FTX users and different crypto entities for 2 years due to the fact that they had lax security. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not explicitly named FTX arsenic the affected crypto exchange, 2 insiders reportedly confirmed that it corresponds to the “victim institution 1” mentioned successful the indictment.

Meanwhile, for perpetrating this attack, Powell, Hernandez, and Rohn person been charged with fraud and individuality theft.

What are your thoughts connected this story? Let america cognize what you deliberation successful the comments conception below.

View source