How Researchers Cracked an 11-Year-Old Password to a $3 Million Crypto Wallet
May 29, 2024
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Researchers cracked an 11-year-old password to access a $3 million crypto wallet by exploiting a flaw in an outdated password manager. They reverse-engineered and identified vulnerabilities to retrieve the lost password. CyberSystems fixed the password security issue in the password manager and warned users of potential vulnerabilities in older versions.
Flaw in Roboform tied password generation to date, aiding researchers in cracking an 11-year-old password.
Researchers' persistence, expertise in reverse-engineering Roboform crucial in recovering $3 million worth of Bitcoin.
Deep dives
Revealing the Flaw in Roboform Password Manager
Researchers discovered a flaw in an older version of the Roboform password manager that allowed them to crack an 11-year-old password to a $3 million crypto wallet. By reverse-engineering the software, they found that the password generation process was tied to the user's computer date and time, making passwords predictable. This flaw helped researchers narrow down the possible password guesses by knowing the date of generation, eventually leading to the successful recovery of the crypto wallet password.
The Persistence of Grant and Bruno in Password Recovery
Grant and Bruno spent months reverse-engineering Roboform to crack the password of a crypto wallet. Despite initial failures where the generated passwords didn't match, their persistence led them to adjust parameters and eventually find the correct password. Their diligence and expertise in understanding the software's flaws and password generation process were instrumental in recovering the $3 million worth of Bitcoin.
Implications of Password Manager Security and Fixes
The potential vulnerabilities of password managers like Roboform, which tied password generation to computer date and time, raised concerns about user data security. The researchers' success in cracking the password highlighted the importance of continuous security updates in password manager software. CyberSystems' fix in 2015 aimed to increase the randomness of generated passwords, but questions remain regarding the security of older passwords and potential vulnerabilities in current versions of Roboform.
Thanks to a flaw in a decade-old version of the RoboForm password manager and a bit of luck, researchers were able to unearth the password to a crypto wallet containing a fortune.