HackersTent’s forensic team cracked a decade-old crypto theft case worth $3M using advanced blockchain analysis and a password vulnerability.

Security firm HackersTent has pulled off an impressive feat by recovering $3 million in stolen cryptocurrency using advanced blockchain analysis techniques and cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

In a breakthrough case that challenges the notion that stolen crypto is gone forever, HackersTent’s recovery team proved that digital breadcrumbs left on the blockchain can lead investigators right to the thieves – even years after the crime.

“The blockchain leaves digital breadcrumbs that help track stolen cryptocurrency,” says the HackersTent team. “Cryptocurrency thefts differ from traditional financial crimes. They make permanent, unalterable records that investigators can track.”

The recovery specialists used advanced tools from the likes of Crystal, Chainalysis and TRM Labs to track the money across various cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Where criminals tried to hide their traces by using mixing services and creating complex transaction networks, HackersTent’s team applied so-called “clustering” which groups addresses that are likely controlled by the same entity.

The major breakthrough came when the team discovered a security vulnerability in an older version of RoboForm password manager. Joe Grand, a prominent hardware hacker, initially declined the case but later joined forces with colleague Bruno to crack the case.

“Grand and a colleague, Bruno, discovered that the seemingly random password was tied to the time and date of its creation,” the sources say. “They studied other RoboForm-generated passwords and learned that the password made on Feb 15, 2013, at 16:10 GMT could open the wallet with about 30 BTC.”

The thieves tried a sophisticated laundering scheme, peeling chains – sending small amounts only to destination addresses, while relaying the bulk to a later, controlled address – but HackersTent’s multi-route pathfinding tools detected this common trick in no time.

When the stolen funds reached exchanges where criminals tried to cash out, HackersTent worked with these platforms to freeze the assets, helping secure the stolen $3M.

Read more: Oregon Sues Coinbase Over Unregistered Crypto Securities

Instead of altering blockchain history, HackersTent created new transactions that moved the stolen assets to court-ordered addresses, preserving blockchain integrity while returning funds to rightful owners.

The ruling establishes that courts will now treat digital assets as property that owners can legally recover. This success proves that stolen cryptocurrency doesn’t just disappear forever – with the right expertise in blockchain forensics, legal requirements, and technical recovery methods, victims have real hope of recovery.

HackersTent’s $3M recovery is trading as an influential case study in cybersecurity circles at time of writing, up considerably in perceived importance as similar cryptocurrency thefts continue to plague markets worldwide.

Source- infosecurity