In an extraordinary turn of events, two hackers have successfully cracked the long-forgotten password of a digital wallet, leading to the recovery of approximately $2 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC).
Lost Bitcoin Fortune Unlocked
As reported by Wired, the story began in 2013 when an individual known by the alias “Michael” securely stored his Bitcoin holdings in a password-protected digital wallet. Unfortunately, over time, he lost access to the wallet due to a corrupted file containing the 20-character password generated using the RoboForm password manager.
Despite his efforts to prioritize security, Michael’s concerns about potential hacking led him to refrain from storing the password in his manager, inadvertently locking himself out of his fortune.
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Enter Joe Grand, a renowned electrical engineer and hardware hacker, popularly known as “Kingpin.” In 2022, Grand gained recognition for aiding another cryptocurrency wallet owner in recovering $2 million worth of digital assets after forgetting the PIN to his Trezor wallet. Since then, numerous individuals have approached Grand seeking his expertise, but he selectively chooses his projects.
Michael initially approached Grand two years ago, seeking assistance in recovering his lost Bitcoin. However, due to the unique challenges posed by a software-based wallet, Grand declined the request.
Nonetheless, Michael persisted, and last June, Grand agreed to give it another shot, teaming up with a fellow hacker named Bruno from Germany.
Months of reverse engineering led Grand and Bruno to a significant breakthrough. They discovered a flaw in the pseudo-random number generator used by the RoboForm program, which was employed by Michael in 2013.
The flaw tied the generated passwords to the date and time on the user’s computer, making them predictable. Armed with this knowledge, the hackers devised a plan to exploit the flaw and crack the password.
The major hurdle in this process was Michael’s inability to recall the exact date when the password was generated. However, armed with the knowledge that Bitcoin had been moved into the wallet for the first time on April 14, 2013, Grand and Bruno configured RoboForm to generate passwords within a specific time frame, utilizing the parameters used by Michael.
From Forgotten To Found
Despite initial failed attempts, Grand and Bruno persisted, adjusting the time frame and parameters until they finally struck gold. On…
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