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Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

forbes.com

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Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#31

Post by NorwegianDude »

Since the beginning I've always looked at cryptocurrencies as a free for all. If you're dumb enough to leak your key, then the value is gone. If you send your currency away to something without looking into it first, then it's your own stupidity. Lost your key? Great job, dumbass. Crypto currency is and has always been a "do what you want, but if you mess up, it's on you" in my eyes.

It seems most people using crypto currencies now have basically no knowledge about it, so I guess this will happen more often in the future. Now, "everyone" is into cryptocurrencies, and most of them could probably not name a single algorithm used for cryptography.

It's so simple to stay anonymous online. If someone took your currency then it's unlikely you'll ever figure out who it was.

Speaking as a dumbass who noticed the news in 2013 about bitcoin reaching $ 1k or something, then realizing the key for a wallet with 52 BTC was on a drive I wiped some years prior to that.

Well played to whoever found a flaw, if that's what happened.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#32

Post by jshen »

mikefallen wrote: post #26
cardosof wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course every generalization is wrong but a not so little part of the crypto community seems very interested in avoiding taxation, money laundering and buying illegal stuff without detection.

You know whats used way more then crypto to buy illegal things and launder money? Cash

You are using the wrong denominator. You need to compare the percentage of cash transactions (or cash exchanged) for illegal activities compared to crypto.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#34

Post by TekMol »

shiado wrote: post #18

Let S = smart contract writer's code intent - smart contract compiled code meaning. If S is legally meaningful it's all over for smart contracts. There's no way to prove the contract writer's intent, the compiler itself can have problems causing divergence, and it's not even possible to prove if the idea in the writer's mind can be captured by code. You could even come up with a sort of halting problem smart contract…

    halting problem smart contract that's
    both fraudulent and not at the same time
How would the halting problem help with that? With the halting problem, can't you just write code so that nobody knows if it will halt or not? I wouldn't say it halts and not halts at the same time. We just don't know if it will halt.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#35

Post by mlazos »

hamburgerwah wrote: post #16

I haven't seen any evidence there was in fact a hack at all. A digital contract was used in a way that complied with the contract that the bonehead writers of that contract did not intend. That's it. If bad contract writers get to cry "hack" and beg for their money back there is no point to digital contracts at all. If someone had physically or electronically broken into systems and illicitly copied private keys that…

It’s so funny to me when everyone touts crypto + smart contracts as revolutionary™ then when you follow a system implemented with them to its logical conclusions you have analogs to everything that already exists. Lawyers to audit the contracts for bugs (and yes there can be bugs in a formally verified spec as well), courts to arbitrate disagreements, and an authority to enforce rules when someone finds a security hole. Hmm maybe the entire federal bureaucracy is not entirely redundant, and there were reasons that it grew to what it is today. Maybe we should understand the existing system before advocating complete disruption.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#36

Post by fy20 »

Acrobatic_Road wrote: post #3

From what I recall, the hacker basically doxxed himself by accident by signing a message from his real wallet, linked to exchange wallets which presumably has his KYC info. From there, it was all over. Even if he could launder all that money, international authorities would find him. In fact, the writing style of his messages provide a pretty big clue where he is - Ukraine or Russia.

Stealing so much, I'd imagine being caught by authorities would be one of the better outcomes...

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#37

Post by nroets »

notathrowaway2 wrote: post #13
rasz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

was there ever $600m of real money? reading messages on that funny google docks tracker suggests it was mostly shitcoins.

>it was mostly shitcoins. As if there's any other kind.

I don't see long term value in Bitcoin. I even made a website to explain why (https://Bitcoin.IsNot.Money ).

But it's liquidity gives it sort term utility like cheaply transferring money internationally.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#38

Post by pmorici »

mlazos wrote: post #35
hamburgerwah wrote: post #16

I haven't seen any evidence there was in fact a hack at all. A digital contract was used in a way that complied with the contract that the bonehead writers of that contract did not intend. That's it. If bad contract writers get to cry "hack" and beg for their money back there is no point to digital contracts at all. If someone had physically or electronically broken into systems and illicitly copied private keys that…

It’s so funny to me when everyone touts crypto + smart contracts as revolutionary™ then when you follow a system implemented with them to its logical conclusions you have analogs to everything that already exists. Lawyers to audit the contracts for bugs (and yes there can be bugs in a formally verified spec as well), courts to arbitrate disagreements, and an authority to enforce rules when someone finds a security ho…

Just because there are similar mechanisms doesn’t mean they haven’t been improved on in some way. Lawyers and courts are notoriously inefficient if this implementation achieves efficiencies, even if the mechanisms are analogous, seems like progress.

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#39

Post by RVuRnvbM2e »

pmorici wrote: post #38
mlazos wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s so funny to me when everyone touts crypto + smart contracts as revolutionary™ then when you follow a system implemented with them to its logical conclusions you have analogs to everything that already exists. Lawyers to audit the contracts for bugs (and yes there can be bugs in a formally verified spec as well), courts to arbitrate disagreements, and an authority to enforce rules when someone finds a security ho…

Just because there are similar mechanisms doesn’t mean they haven’t been improved on in some way. Lawyers and courts are notoriously inefficient if this implementation achieves efficiencies, even if the mechanisms are analogous, seems like progress.

> It’s important to remember that when you start from scratch there is absolutely no reason to believe that you are going to do a better job than you did the first time. First of all, you probably don’t even have the same programming team that worked on version one, so you don’t actually have “more experience”. You’re just going to make most of the old mistakes again, and introduce some new problems that weren’t in the original version.

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-...

Re: Poly Network hacker returns $258M after stealing $600M

#40

Post by basisword »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #28
mikefallen wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know whats used way more then crypto to buy illegal things and launder money? Cash

You can’t use cash to buy a kilo of XXXX from Sergei in Ukraine when you live in Chicago.

You can. It’s just more difficult. But you can use cash to buy a kilo of XXXX from someone in Chicago very easily.
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