$2mn worth Theta has been recovered from Trezor

Theta blockchain is one of the major projects in the crypto ecosystem which provides end-to-end infrastructure for decentralized video streaming. Besides, Trezor is one of the secure vaults where users can store their cryptocurrencies, passwords, logins, and keys without worries. Indeed, as we know that the cryptosphere is a tricky place but there are few things that don’t change for anyone like cryptocurrency keys. Recently, a computer engineer managed to crack a Trezor One hardware wallet containing more than $2 million worth of digital assets. 

A hacker found vulnerability in Trezor

A hardware hacker helped Dan Reich, a New york-based entrepreneur and cryptocurrency enthusiast to recover his crypto. Reich was finally relieved after getting back his more than $2 million worth of digital assets from his Trezor One hardware wallet.

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Few years ago, Reich decided to spend $50k worth BTC on Theta, when the tokens were valued at 21 cents only. However, the funds were held on a Chinese exchange, and due to crackdown Reich had to transfer everything to a hardware wallet.

However, after opting Trezor hardware wallets, the entrepreneur and his friend bought the pin. After 12 unsuccessful attempts, they lost hope and quit. But last year, with several projects booming, Theta token’s price also surged above $15 which helped their investment rise above $3 million.

Following the gains, Reich again planned to re attempt to gain access to the wallet. However, without a seed phrase and PIN the only way left to access the wallet was through hacking. Hence they asked Joe Grand. Portal;and-based hardware hacker.

How did Joe Grand manage to recover the Theta tokens?

Joe Grand knew that the hardware wallet consisting of Theta tokens temporarily moved the PIN and key to the RAM during firmware update. Once the update was complete, the information was moved back to the flash again. Surprisingly, the hacker noted that Reich’s wallet’s information was not moved to the RAM, rather was copied to the RAM.

The white hat hacker used a fault injection attack, which is a technique that alters the voltage going to the chip. The wallet’s micro controllers had to prevent hackers from reading RAM and the injection helped to obtain the PIN required to access the wallet.

According to Grand, he basically caused a misbehavior on the silicon chip inside the device in order to defeat security. Although the hack helped Reich and his friend recover the funds, not everyone was pleased with the vulnerability.