An 18-year-old Japanese hackerhas been arrested by authorities after allegedly stealing $134,300 in digital currency.
The perpetrator reportedly managed to gain access to a cryptocurrency website and steal a large amount of money, according to the Japan Times. This is the first time that prosecutors in Japan have had to investigate a case involving the theft of cryptocurrencies by a single individual.
The alleged perpetrator is a resident of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture. However, his name was not revealed, as he is still considered a minor under Japanese law.
According to police data, the theft occurred between August 14 and September 1, 2018, from a website called Monappy, which is mainly used by traders to manage the digital currency Monacoin.
In order to hide his personal data, the hacker allegedly used the Tor peer-to-peer (P2P) encryption software. However, despite attempts to cover his tracks, researchers were finally able to find the culprit after analyzing log files found on Monappy's server.
According to local authorities, the defendant admitted to being involved in the financial crime.
While it is unclear how the attacker managed to steal the money, police said he was able to exploit a vulnerability in the website's codebase, which includes sending money to users.
The hacker claimed to have found a security flaw in the website's transaction system. The attacker made repeated requests to transfer digital currencies to his account, which led to the system crashing. This allowed him to transfer a large amount of money to his address.
About 7,700 investors using the Monappy site have been affected by security breaches. Commenting on the incident, Monappy management acknowledged that its website had been compromised and also stated that it would compensate the victims.
