After two years of inactivity, the infamous blockchain bandit known for orchestrating one of the most advanced Ethereum heists has resurfaced. The thief recently transferred 51,000 Ether worth about $172 million into a single wallet. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT, who has been tracking the bandit’s activities for years, reported the development. According to the findings, the stolen Ether was moved from ten separate wallets to a multi-signature address labeled “0xC45…1D542.”
The transfer took place in increments of 5,000 Ether and took 24 minutes. Transactions began at 20:54 UTC and ended at 21:18 UTC. Despite the massive money movements, there have so far been no noticeable effects on the market price of Ether.
Exploiting early Ethereum vulnerabilities
The Blockchain Bandit earned its infamous nickname through a series of calculated hacks between 2016 and 2018. Using a technique called “ethercombing,” the thief exploited weak private keys generated in the early stages of Ethereum’s development. By identifying vulnerabilities in key generation processes, Bandit has systematically uncovered private keys associated with active wallets.
The operation relied heavily on automated systems that scanned thousands of potential keys to identify vulnerabilities. Issues such as predictable random number generation and poor coding practices left numerous wallets unprotected. In around 49,060 transactions, the hacker collected almost 45,000 Ether and discovered 732 private keys.
These vulnerabilities underscore the importance of robust cryptography and user due diligence when securing digital…
