Live data from Hacker News

Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

bloomberg.com

161–170 of 229 posts

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#161
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they'd seized a safe that contained a note saying where the money/Bitcoin were hidden, but they didn't have the combination to the safe, and they didn't know if anybody else had a copy of the note. Calling those "seized bitcoins" is definitely stretching the truth in my opinion. And the Government,ent/prosecution knew this - from the article: "As a backup, Trezor hardware wallets can generate a “seed phrase,” a co…

Seizing is a legal construct. It's not "I'm grabbing hold" seizing. It's the "I've had a judge validate that legally I am now the owner" variant.

Yeah, it's like "We don't actually have the money/bitcoin in our posession, but as soon as Gary started spending the sequentially numbered bills and/or moving the permanently trackable by design Bitcoins, we can show up and arrest him for having stolen them from us."

Like the informant said, Gary is not the sharpest tool in the box.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#162
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zero, given that anyone can sniff the traffic.

There can never be a problem with OpenSSL or Log4j, they’re open source. Too many eyes on it to be a problem. Absolutes, cut it out.

To quote Theo De Raadt: “My favorite part of the “many eyes” argument is how few bugs were found by the two eyes of Eric ([S Raymond] the originator of the statement). All the many eyes are apparently attached to a lot of hands that type lots of words about many eyes, and never actually audit code.”

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The bitcoiner isn't going to hand over his coins for any reason (including torture, torture of family members, bribery, etc). Lol. Lmao, even. Let's just suppose a completely different kind of human.

People have died for less. You are assuming everyone has the same kind of morals and ethics as yourself.

Hard to imagine dying for less than imaginary internet tokens.

I guess there are people who drive off cliffs and whatnot, but somehow that feels like an honest mistake and not as funny to me.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The bitcoiner isn't going to hand over his coins for any reason (including torture, torture of family members, bribery, etc). Lol. Lmao, even. Let's just suppose a completely different kind of human.

People have died for less. You are assuming everyone has the same kind of morals and ethics as yourself.

Morals and ethics somehow related to handing over your virtual money because someone is killing your family if you aren't?

Okay.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as opposed to what? There are more words in that sentence. Are there other examples where someone "remotely [swiped] Bitcoin stored on a computer device the government had already seized in another case ?" They seem to define "stored on service" in this case as "accessible only with access to device." It's an interesting case: is it harder to recover physical assets from a police storage locker than digital?

> It's an interesting case because it's harder to recover physical assets from a police storage locker than digital. I feel like you missed the whole point the comment you replied to made. If the person who stored the cryptocoins on the physically seized computer had a copy of the private keys on another computer (COMPLETELY NORMAL) and the prosecutor never transferred the coins making the assumption that physically…

> if two people have access to the private keys for a wallet, whoever gets to it first is the real owner.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that's not how laws work. My son has a key to my car, but if he took it and ran off to seek his fortunes, that doesn't make it his car.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Iran gets trotted out as a strawman in these arguments, but its government is really quite democratic compared to many US allies which have the mere trappings of democracy painted on a dictatorship. Iran has an elected president, and a parliament and multiple parties. As I understand it, the biggest issue with the government as a functioning democracy is that the unelected supreme council can prevent candidates from…

It is not a spectrum. USA and eu might be. But if someone above you can prevent your from running or electing then it is NOT democracy. Once you are free to do so then may I say no one promise heaven on earth. It is bad human and good in democracy. Sort it out. It is hard. But it is not the same as other sort it out for you.

By your own definition, pretty much no countries, including the US, are democracies, as almost everywhere has mechanisms through which the courts can prevent you from running.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how exactly is Iran a democratic society? I think I made a point about totalitarian regimes being different in the way the legitimize that monopoly and use it.

Iran gets trotted out as a strawman in these arguments, but its government is really quite democratic compared to many US allies which have the mere trappings of democracy painted on a dictatorship. Iran has an elected president, and a parliament and multiple parties. As I understand it, the biggest issue with the government as a functioning democracy is that the unelected supreme council can prevent candidates from…

The thing that makes Iran not a democracy is that all those bodies (parliament, president, parties) answer to the supreme leader and religious authority.

It’s not a democracy if the elected bodies all answer to unelected ones.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand it your (incorrect) reading of 241 is that when the government securely holds your property pending the final outcome of your trial that violates the clause of 241 that forbids a conspiracy to "injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person". If that was true detaining a person would be a much more serious violation than detaining your property. Now I happen to believe that pretrial detention is…

On the other hand, feds routinely seize defendants assets to prevent them from being able to pay for robust legal defense. Those assets aren't going to harm anyone, so the case for seizing them is much weaker than holding someone accused of violence in jail. In this specific case, the assets are alleged ill-gotten gains, but often that is not the case at all. It doesn't seem to be a stretch that the feds "securely ho…

Feds do this because they can’t win against well funded defendants.

Re: Feds seized $311M in Bitcoin, then hacker stole it back

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, feds routinely seize defendants assets to prevent them from being able to pay for robust legal defense. Those assets aren't going to harm anyone, so the case for seizing them is much weaker than holding someone accused of violence in jail. In this specific case, the assets are alleged ill-gotten gains, but often that is not the case at all. It doesn't seem to be a stretch that the feds "securely ho…

Feds do this because they can’t win against well funded defendants.

That does not make it OK. The proper solution is one or both of:

- Make laws so simple that a layman can understand them, thus removing the need for professional lawyers, and their exorbitant fees.

- Have prosecution be equally well funded as a defendant.

Post reply on HN