Bart Stephens, the co-founder of Blockchain Capital, a distinguished enterprise fund specializing in cryptocurrency investments, has reportedly fallen sufferer to an alleged SIM swap hack that price him a staggering lack of $6.3 million price of digital property.
This incident sheds mild on the rising menace of SIM swap assaults, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned about in 2022. These assaults goal people with substantial cryptocurrency holdings and have surged in frequency, with the FBI estimating a lack of $72 million to this tactic final yr, marking an increase from the $68 million reported in 2021.
Rising Menace Of SIM Swap Assaults On Crypto Holders
The current breach involving Bart Stephens underscores the growing vulnerability of cryptocurrency holders to SIM swap assaults. These subtle cybercrimes contain hackers leveraging private data discovered on-line and on the darkish internet to control mobile community suppliers into altering account entry. The assailants then exploit this newfound management to change passwords and entry the sufferer’s accounts.
The lawsuit filed by Stephens, citing an incident that occurred on Might 14, alleges that the hacker, referred to as Jane Doe, managed to compromise Stephens’ mobile community account by utilizing private information. This gave the hacker the power to switch roughly $6.3 million price of assorted cryptocurrencies, together with Bitcoin, Ether, Maker, Compound, and Uniswap, into wallets underneath their management.
Additional, an audacious try was made to pilfer 80 BTC and 6,500 ETH from Stephens’ custodial chilly pockets, however a well timed e mail notification foiled it.
Bitcoin threatens to drop to $25K degree. Chart: TradingView.com
Blockchain Capital: A Pillar Of The Crypto Funding Panorama
Based in 2013 by Bart Stephens and his brother Brad Stephens, Blockchain Capital has solidified its presence within the cryptocurrency funding panorama. With its headquarters nestled in San Francisco, the fund has actively supported pioneering crypto startups, together with Opensea, Worldcoin, Kraken, and Coinbase. The current setback, nonetheless, has spotlighted the necessity for heightened safety measures in a quickly evolving digital monetary ecosystem.
Blockchain Capital co-founder Bart Stephens. Supply: RIA Channel.
Looking for compensation for the monetary loss, the prices incurred through the investigation, and the misery attributable to the breach, Stephens has initiated authorized motion. His demand for a jury trial underscores the urgency of addressing the rising incidence of SIM swap assaults that threatens not solely particular person traders but additionally the integrity of the cryptocurrency trade as a complete.
Because the crypto area continues to advance, the incident serves as a stark reminder that technological improvements should be matched by sturdy safety protocols to guard the burgeoning digital property of people and entities alike.
Featured picture from Protection Critic
