Crypto robbery

[grenfell]

Apparently some £380M worth of crypto currency has been stolen from a Japanese bank ,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42845505
Does make me wonder just how secure this sort of asset is but what makes me wonder more is just how the robbers are going to use it . The report talks of knowing the digital address the money went to so does this mean it's all traceable and thus almost unusable? I know there's others on here with a better knowledge on here that might hopefully enlighten me a little ( I'll admit to not fully understanding crypto's and even have to use the spell checker when writing the word let alone much else )
In slightly lighter news there's a link on there that shows how the rapper 50 cent has just discovered an $8M nest egg in bitcoin which he had apparently forgotten about . Seems he excepted bitcoin as payment for one of his albums a while ago...

[Wood cutter]

The motive for theft doesn't have to be that the thief can gain from their actions, it's much more likely that depriving the victim of the 'currency' is enough. An awful lot of cyber attacks are designed to deprive others, rather than actually benefit from it. The best example is probably the DDoS attacks on sites (or more specifically hosting); for those not in the know, Google DDoS attack.

[Deeps]

Apparently some £380M worth of crypto currency has been stolen from a Japanese bank ,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42845505
Does make me wonder just how secure this sort of asset is but what makes me wonder more is just how the robbers are going to use it . The report talks of knowing the digital address the money went to so does this mean it's all traceable and thus almost unusable? I know there's others on here with a better knowledge on here that might hopefully enlighten me a little ( I'll admit to not fully understanding crypto's and even have to use the spell checker when writing the word let alone much else )
In slightly lighter news there's a link on there that shows how the rapper 50 cent has just discovered an $8M nest egg in bitcoin which he had apparently forgotten about . Seems he excepted bitcoin as payment for one of his albums a while ago...

I just love that someone who's named themselves after fiat currency was happy to be paid in bitcoin.

[Bad Wombat]

makes me wonder more is just how the robbers are going to use it

I'm no expert but I suspect they could launder it through some of the less traceable cryptocurrencies like monero or dash. All these online wallets are vulnerable to cyber theft. If you want to be secure - keep it offline!

[jansman]

And then there is this:https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... ews-latest

So it can still be nicked like anything else.
https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... latest/amp

[grenfell]

The motive for theft doesn't have to be that the thief can gain from their actions, it's much more likely that depriving the victim of the 'currency' is enough. An awful lot of cyber attacks are designed to deprive others, rather than actually benefit from it. The best example is probably the DDoS attacks on sites (or more specifically hosting); for those not in the know, Google DDoS attack.

I did wonder when I read that crypto had dropped in value after the robbery and presumably the value of the bank will drop too whether it was someone trying to devalue someone else's assets but my limited knowledge then though it sounded too much like some weird conspiracy . Frankly I don't know.

[grenfell]

And then there is this:https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... ews-latest

So it can still be nicked like anything else.
https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... latest/amp

It shouldn't really surprise me that criminals find a way to steal anything , whether it's gold , paper , crypto's or leaves . I suppose it's the whole idea of anonymity while at the same time every transaction is logged and there is an address the money was transferred to that I have trouble getting my head around.

[jansman]

I suspect that the address it was moved to was cleverly hidden.Reinforcing the idea that it is the currency of criminals.

[Deeps]

And then there is this:https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... ews-latest

So it can still be nicked like anything else.
https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/ ... latest/amp

It shouldn't really surprise me that criminals find a way to steal anything , whether it's gold , paper , crypto's or leaves . I suppose it's the whole idea of anonymity while at the same time every transaction is logged and there is an address the money was transferred to that I have trouble getting my head around.

Yeah, I'm struggling to get my head round the whole idea of it, currency is a means to get stuff that you need or want, whether fiat or the new kid on the block. That seems to have got lost along the way and the accumulation of currency/wealth is an interest in itself. Don't get me wrong, I'd like a bit more myself but in the grand scheme of things my requirements are pretty modest, we're sort of programmed now to judge more wealth with more success and happiness. I'm not passing any negative judgements on those more ambitious than myself, I just don't see this new crypto currency as anything different from other commodities that can be traded, fair play to those who have made big profits out of it but I don't do stocks & shares and I don't do precious metals, I see this as something similar, I have invested in property so I'm not totally risk averse, maybe its the tangibility of it, or lack off, dunno but it ain't for me.

[Arwen Thebard]

makes me wonder more is just how the robbers are going to use it

I'm no expert but I suspect they could launder it through some of the less traceable cryptocurrencies like monero or dash. All these online wallets are vulnerable to cyber theft. If you want to be secure - keep it offline!

I believe it was an exchange that was hacked, rather than a bank as such. Previously there was a similar incident with one called MtGox, poor security by the company running the exchange led to major losses there also.

Keep it off line is indeed the right thing to do, if you leave your money with an exchange and this happens, then you loose it all.

Keep it offline in your own possession just like you would with gold or silver.