The hacker responsible for stealing $62.8 million worth of Ether (ETH) from the Ethereum-based NFT game Munchables returned the stolen funds without demanding a ransom.
The incident began on March 26th, when Munchables reported a security exploit that resulted in over 17,400 ETH being drained from their GameFi app.
Munchables has been compromised. We are tracking movements and attempting to stop the the transactions. We will update as soon as we know more.
— Munchables (@_munchables_) March 26, 2024
The Munchables team, along with blockchain investigators like PeckShield and ZachXBT, scrambled to track the movement of the stolen funds.
$97m has been secured in a multisig by Blast core contributors. Took an incredible lift in the background but I’m grateful the ex munchables dev opted to return all funds in the end without any ransom required. @_munchables_ and protocols integrating with it like @juice_finance…
— Pacman | Blur + Blast (@PacmanBlur) March 27, 2024
After nearly eight hours, a surprising revelation emerged: the hacker was identified as a former developer for Munchables themself. Following an hour of negotiations, the ex-developer agreed to return all the stolen funds. Munchables confirmed they received the keys to access the stolen ETH, including the main wallet containing over $62.5 million and smaller amounts in other wallets.
This unexpected turn of events highlights the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency security. While many cyberattacks involve anonymous hackers demanding hefty ransoms, this case demonstrates the potential for internal threats and the possibility of remorse or change of heart.
