Suspects in $14m Holograph hack arrested by EU authorities

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, I find myself both alarmed and intrigued by this recent turn of events involving Holograph (HLG). The news of the arrests made by Italian and French authorities in connection with a massive $14.4 million attack on HLG is undoubtedly a positive development. However, it serves as yet another grim reminder of the ongoing threat posed by cybercriminals to our digital ecosystem.


Law enforcement agencies in Italy and France have apprehended multiple individuals in relation to a significant cyber-attack targeting the crypto protocol, Holograph, estimated to be worth over $14 million.

On August 14th, a comprehensive post was published by the omnichain tokenization platform, revealing that law enforcement agencies in France and Italy had arrested several individuals who are thought to be responsible for the theft of approximately 1 billion of their native tokens, with an estimated value of around 13 million euros ($14.4 million).

After a relentless two-month chase by France’s Cybercrime Prevention Office (OFAC), BRI, Europol, the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigations, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), we’re pleased to announce that several individuals have been apprehended in connection with the Holograph Hack case.

— Holograph (@holographxyz) August 14, 2024

The Holograph team reports that the investigation into the incident was primarily handled by the Office for Preventing Cybercrime and the French Anti-Organized Crime Brigade. Furthermore, they received assistance from Europol, Italy’s Anti-Mafia Investigations Directorate, and the police force of the Cayman Islands in this matter.

The individuals under suspicion were reportedly in their thirties from Eastern Europe, with arrests taking place in Italy. Currently, these individuals are being held for extradition to France. Additionally, authorities have confiscated electronic devices and placed funds linked to the suspects on hold.

On June 13th, an unauthorized event took place where the attackers manipulated the control functions of the Holograph’s operator contract to generate over a billion HLG tokens through a third-party wallet.

The Holograph Operator agreement has been manipulated by a harmful entity, allowing the cybercriminal to produce an extra billion HLG tokens.— Holograph (@holographxyz) June 13, 2024

After the event, the value of HLG plummeted, losing over 80% and reaching an all-time low of $0.0029. As reported by crypto.news, the token’s trading has primarily been below $0.003 since the attack, with a brief spike to $0.049 on July 2, which was the same day Holograph published their post-mortem report about the hacking incident.

Currently, the value of HLG stands at $0.00231, marking a 28% surge in the last 24 hours. Over the course of the past week, its price has risen by nearly 60%.

Suspects in $14m Holograph hack arrested by EU authorities

It was determined in an investigation following the incident that a dissatisfied ex-employee of the platform was behind the hack. This individual is said to have leveraged their administrative privileges to insert harmful tasks within the platform’s smart contract, which they subsequently triggered on June 13.

Moreover, Etherscan’s data indicated that the hacker swiftly transformed the pilfered assets into Tether (USDT) just a few hours following the security breach.

Since that time, the system has put into practice safety measures focused on mitigating potential future occurrences of similar events.

Read More

Sorry. No data so far.

2024-08-15 15:23