bitcoin5 articles
Critical Alby Hub Flaw Left Internet-Exposed Bitcoin Wallets Open to Takeover
Alby has disclosed a critical vulnerability in its self-hosted Lightning Bitcoin wallet, Alby Hub, affecting versions v1.7.0 through v1.18.5, which could allow attackers to take over wallets and drain funds — but only where the Hub was exposed to the internet. At least one user has been affected, and Alby is urging those on older versions to immediately block outside access to the Hub's interface and update to v1.24.0. Full technical details of the flaw have not yet been released, in line with responsible disclosure practices, and users who ran an affected version while internet-exposed are advised to change their unlock password and contact Alby's security team.
Liquid Network Hackers Return Most of the $320M Bitcoin They Nicked, Hold Rest as Leverage
Hackers stole approximately 4,000 Bitcoin (~$320 million) from the Blockstream-developed Bitcoin sidechain Liquid Network by draining its federation wallet, prompting the suspension of all network transactions. The alleged "white-hat" hackers returned 3,400 Bitcoin (~$262.6 million) after urging Liquid to patch the underlying vulnerability, with around 598 Bitcoin (~$47 million) still outstanding. The network remains paused while Blockstream and federation members work on security fixes and prepare for a safe restart.
Liquid Hackers Give Back Most of the Bitcoin, Keep $47M as Apparent 'Fee'
Hackers exploited a bug in the Elements software underlying the Liquid Network sidechain to withdraw nearly 4,000 bitcoin (~$320M) from its federation wallet on September 6. The following day, the group — claiming to be white hats — returned 3,400 bitcoin (~$265M) after Blockstream confirmed its nodes had been patched, but approximately 598.5 bitcoin (~$47M) remains unreturned. While Blockstream says it is still in contact with the group and is preparing to restart the network, critics such as Ledger's CTO have questioned the white-hat label, suggesting the retained funds may amount to extortion.
Someone Just Walked Off With 95% of Liquid Network's Bitcoin and Wants a Pat on the Back
Hackers drained approximately 4,000 BTC ($320 million) from the Liquid Network's federation wallet, representing around 95% of its holdings, while claiming to be white-hat security researchers. The individuals communicated via on-chain messages, asking Blockstream to contact them and promising to return "most" of the Bitcoin once the underlying vulnerability is patched. The exact method used to drain the wallet remains under investigation, as no Peg-out Authorization Keys appear to have been compromised.
Man Recovers $400k Bitcoin Wallet After Claude Figures Out He Changed the Password to 'lol420fuckthePOLICE!*:)'
A man who forgot the password to a Bitcoin wallet containing around $400,000 worth of cryptocurrency has finally regained access after an 11-year search, with the help of Claude AI. Over eight weeks, Claude analysed his old college computer and discovered a wallet backup that could be decrypted using a mnemonic phrase, ultimately revealing the forgotten password — "lol420fuckthePOLICE!*:)" — which he had set while high back in 2015. The grateful owner, known online as "cprkrn," joked he would name his child after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in thanks.