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30
Man Finally Recovers His $3 Million Bitcoin Wallet After He Lost His Password In 2013
Electrical engineer Joe Grand and his little team of security researchers were able to hack into an encrypted file holding 43.6 bitcoins, unlocking a cryptocurrency wallet worth $3 million and ultimately saving a man who had forgotten his password 11 years ago.
Taking to his popular YouTube channel on Tuesday (May 28), Joe uploaded a video showing how he had been hired to hack into a man’s highly valuable encrypted file, which he had not been able to access since 2013.
Highlights
- Joe Grand hacked a lost Bitcoin wallet, recovering $3 million for its owner.
- Michael lost access in 2013 due to a corrupted file storing his password.
- Joe used NSA tools to reverse-engineer RoboForm's password generator.
Michael, whose identity was blurred during the 21-minute-long video, which has amassed nearly 300,000 views, emailed Joe for help last year.
Joining forces with his fellow hacker friend Bruno, Joe was able to reverse engineer the RoboForm password generator in order to regenerate passwords that have been generated in the past.
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Electrical engineer Joe Grand and his little team of security researchers were able to hack into an encrypted file holding 43.6 bitcoins
Image credits: Joe Grand
RoboForm is a password management software that helps users generate, store, and manage passwords securely.
It creates complex, unique passwords for different accounts, stores them in an encrypted vault, and can autofill login information on websites and applications.
Michael had used a 20-character password with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
Image credits: Joe Grand
The password management software then generated the password, which Michael promptly copied and put in the passphrase of his wallet.
He further put the password in a text file that he had subsequently encrypted on his computer.
Unfortunately, a holder of data got corrupted, which caused Michael to lose his password, ultimately locking him out of his cryptocurrency wallet.
They unlocked a cryptocurrency wallet worth $3 million
Image credits: Joe Grand
“At this time I was like okay crap a couple of thousand euros which was painful but okay,” Michael said. “But then that’s when we found out what’s the price [of] Bitcoin.”
At the time, 43 Bitcoin was worth €1.6 million.
“I have this fortune, I can see it, but yeah I can’t use it because I don’t have the password,” Michael recalled.
Image credits: Joe Grand
In 2022, upon discovering that Joe had helped another crypto owner recover access to over $2 million in cryptocurrency, Michael contacted the technology savant.
The IT expert recalled responding that the project wouldn’t work unless they could exploit a bug in RoboForm, so he initially declined to help Michael.
Joe noted that brute-forcing the password—generating a vast list of possible passwords and testing them one by one—was an impractical solution due to its complexity.
Joe and his friend Bruno ultimately saved a man who had forgotten his password 11 years ago
Image credits: Joe Grand
“If we had to try every possible password combination, that’s more than 100 trillion times the number of water drops in the entire world,” the hacker explained.
However, a year later, Michael asked Joe to reconsider, and within that time frame, Brune had done some work in reverse engineering a different type of password generator for a different project.
After accepting helping Michael this time, Joe used a tool developed by the US National Security Agency to disassemble the password generator’s code.
“In a perfect world, when you generate a password with a password generator, you expect to get a unique, random output each time that no one else has,” he explained.
Joe continued: “[But] in this version of RoboForm, it was not the case.
“While RoboForm’s passwords appear to be randomly generated, they’re not.
“With the older versions of this software, if we can control the time, we can control the password.”
RoboForm is a password management software that helps users generate, store, and manage passwords securely
Image credits: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska
Joe was able to trick the system by changing the time back to 2013 when the password was generated, and after a few failed attempts, it finally led to the same password being recreated.
“There was something interesting that we found in that change,” the hacker recalled as he worked on RoboForm’s 2013 version. “It just so happens that Michael was using this earlier version where [the] randomness of the password had not been fixed.”
Joe and Bruno worked to generate millions of potential passwords, and eventually, they cracked the code.
Image credits: joegrandofficial
“Moral of the story: Use insecure password generators,” a viewer commented.
A YouTube user wrote: “That password generator really just generated a password for every second of time lmao.”
A person noted: “Password generator… You had one job!”
A separate individual chimed in: “Moral of the story: Don’t attack the password, attack the system that created the password.”
Upon successfully hacking into Michael’s crypto wallet, Joe told Wired in an article published on Tuesday (May 28): “We ultimately got lucky that our parameters and time range was right.
“If either of those were wrong, we would have … continued to take guesses/shots in the dark.”
“They should split it 50/50,” a reader suggested
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What do you think ?
Tessy Karan 1 year ago
They're not all scams. Some rando I found on the internet brute-forced a wallet for me and didn't steal a dime. Asked for a completely reasonable 20%, but that's it. I even offered 40% and he said 20% would be fine. I dunno if he's still active, but he went by "Crypto Expert Recovery" (with email: CryptoExpertRecovery @ Proton. Me).
Amor Craig 1 year ago
In my experience, I lost 2 BTC in November of last year while I was trying to double my income through this online bitcoin investment. I soon realized I was scammed, It was too much to take in. After 3 months of depression that lasted till this year a friend recommended I contact this Crypto Recovery Expert (email: CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me) and within some few days of working I got back my stolen bitcoin. I can't still believe it till this day, I am super grateful.
Load More Replies...
Onni Champ 1 year ago
My father really wanted to purchase a new house for our family, and was dedicated to trying to get enough money for it through investing in crypto. He started using a website called Debiex where he deposited 140k, and allegedly has made more than one million USDT coins (so more than one million US dollars) in only a few months. Just later, his account was frozen and was asked to deposit ~120k in order to unfreeze the account. After a quick internet search, I found out that the website itself is a scam, and is even flagged by Coinbase itself. I searched for a way to get the 140k back, and came across a "Crypto Expert Recovery" has helps recover stolen of missing crypto currencies. I contacted them (CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me) and after handing them all the transaction details in a few days they recovered back my father's bitcoin. This saved him a lot and ended his depression, I can't thank them well enough for putting in the time to helping out my family.
Joey Lucre 1 year ago
I woke up one morning and when I logged into my trust wallet my bitcoin of over 2.5million has been wiped out, apparently it was sent to an unknown wallet I didn't authorize. This drove me craze for several months until I was advise to contact CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me This was the crypto specialist recovered back my stolen funds and saved me off my depression, these guys are the best. Reach out to them if you are in a similar situation.
Load More Replies...
Bryan Hepp 1 year ago
Has anyone ever had any crypto stolen from there wallet I woke up last month to all my bitcoin 55k gone sent to a wallet I don't own and obviously didn't send it myself mainly because it was at 4am and I was asleep? Just wondering if there's anything I could do to get it back when I came cross CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me I figured it was worth a shot to try. I contacted them and they basically requested all transaction details fastforward to today and my bitcoin has been recovered. I lost all hope thinking it couldn't be done but this Expert Recovery Team saved me the stress and frustration.
Tom Wardhaugh 1 year ago
In 2019 I had 200k in a wallet but I logged out of the app and got locked out. Thought I knew my password but didn't. Didn't bother writing down the recovery phrase because I didn't use BTC for investing back then, just for...other stuff 😉. 2 years later at the height of the last bull run there was a Forbes article about these guys who can hack into your wallet but take a 20% cut of your stack for their services. I'm no computer whiz so I decided to give them a try since they were the only option I got in recovering my lost funs [ CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me ], after some few days they succeeded in recovering back my wallet.
PFD 1 year ago
I often wonder how much bitcoin is lost in the ether like this. I had a wallet with a bit in it (nothing like in this story and only from a few years ago) and totally lost all the logins and passwords and everything. I just looked up the rate of return and there's probably a good few thousand dollars' worth lost forever, quietly turning a vast profit for no one at all.
similarly 1 year ago
Years ago, I read about a guy who'd thrown away an old laptop, forgetting he had bitcoin in there that today would be worth millions.
Load More Replies...
Malcom Willis 1 year ago
THIS GENIUS ANTONFASTHACK100@ GMAIL . COME HELPED ME RECOVER OVER 50,000 USD WORTH OF CRYPTO WHICH I HAD LAST TO SO SC@M INVESTMENT ONLINE. Everyone makes mistakes. I made mine by falling for some false promises I got online. But when we make these mistakes, let’s seek solutions. I am glad I was wise enough to research until I found the contact of this genius who literally saved me by helping me trace and recover my money. If you need help, I urge you to contact ANTON on his information below; EMAIL: ANTONFASTHACK100@ GMAIL,C0M Whstsapp: +.1..814..329..3675 Tele*Gram: +.1..254..251..0647
Jina Bryte 1 year ago
If you are still wondering if you can recover bitcoins stolen or lost to scammers is possible, the answer is YES as long as you have the right contact. This genius Anton Romavona just helped me recover over 17,000 (0.23 btc) that I lost to fake investment company. I had invested smaller amounts and made profit until I invested 17,000 then they stopped replying. I immediately contacted a friend of mine who gave me Anton’s contact. It took him just 3 days to get my money back. IF YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE CONTACT ANTON ON EMAIL: ANTONFASTHACK100 @ GMAIL,C0M
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Now if only he had written his password down on a Post-It note he wouldn't have had this problem
Sophia Rosie 10 months ago
I thought I'd lost everything when I invested 450,000 dollars in a cryptocurrency project that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. I felt devastated, foolish, and helpless. But then I remembered that there's always hope. I reached out to (GLOBALLY RECLAIM ⓐ GMAIL COM ) What'sApp +1 (603) 702 ( 4335 ) and their expert team sprang into action. With their help, I was able to recover 95% of my lost investment. I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for a second chance. I realized that even in the darkest moments, there's always a way forward. If I can recover from this, so can you. Don't give up if you're facing a similar situation. Reach out to GLOBALLY RECLAIM for guidance and support. Remember, you're not alone, and there's always hope for recovery."
Tessy Karan 1 year ago
They're not all scams. Some rando I found on the internet brute-forced a wallet for me and didn't steal a dime. Asked for a completely reasonable 20%, but that's it. I even offered 40% and he said 20% would be fine. I dunno if he's still active, but he went by "Crypto Expert Recovery" (with email: CryptoExpertRecovery @ Proton. Me).
Amor Craig 1 year ago
In my experience, I lost 2 BTC in November of last year while I was trying to double my income through this online bitcoin investment. I soon realized I was scammed, It was too much to take in. After 3 months of depression that lasted till this year a friend recommended I contact this Crypto Recovery Expert (email: CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me) and within some few days of working I got back my stolen bitcoin. I can't still believe it till this day, I am super grateful.
Load More Replies... Onni Champ 1 year ago
My father really wanted to purchase a new house for our family, and was dedicated to trying to get enough money for it through investing in crypto. He started using a website called Debiex where he deposited 140k, and allegedly has made more than one million USDT coins (so more than one million US dollars) in only a few months. Just later, his account was frozen and was asked to deposit ~120k in order to unfreeze the account. After a quick internet search, I found out that the website itself is a scam, and is even flagged by Coinbase itself. I searched for a way to get the 140k back, and came across a "Crypto Expert Recovery" has helps recover stolen of missing crypto currencies. I contacted them (CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me) and after handing them all the transaction details in a few days they recovered back my father's bitcoin. This saved him a lot and ended his depression, I can't thank them well enough for putting in the time to helping out my family.
Joey Lucre 1 year ago
I woke up one morning and when I logged into my trust wallet my bitcoin of over 2.5million has been wiped out, apparently it was sent to an unknown wallet I didn't authorize. This drove me craze for several months until I was advise to contact CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me This was the crypto specialist recovered back my stolen funds and saved me off my depression, these guys are the best. Reach out to them if you are in a similar situation.
Load More Replies... Bryan Hepp 1 year ago
Has anyone ever had any crypto stolen from there wallet I woke up last month to all my bitcoin 55k gone sent to a wallet I don't own and obviously didn't send it myself mainly because it was at 4am and I was asleep? Just wondering if there's anything I could do to get it back when I came cross CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me I figured it was worth a shot to try. I contacted them and they basically requested all transaction details fastforward to today and my bitcoin has been recovered. I lost all hope thinking it couldn't be done but this Expert Recovery Team saved me the stress and frustration.
Tom Wardhaugh 1 year ago
In 2019 I had 200k in a wallet but I logged out of the app and got locked out. Thought I knew my password but didn't. Didn't bother writing down the recovery phrase because I didn't use BTC for investing back then, just for...other stuff 😉. 2 years later at the height of the last bull run there was a Forbes article about these guys who can hack into your wallet but take a 20% cut of your stack for their services. I'm no computer whiz so I decided to give them a try since they were the only option I got in recovering my lost funs [ CryptoExpertRecovery@Proton.Me ], after some few days they succeeded in recovering back my wallet.
PFD 1 year ago
I often wonder how much bitcoin is lost in the ether like this. I had a wallet with a bit in it (nothing like in this story and only from a few years ago) and totally lost all the logins and passwords and everything. I just looked up the rate of return and there's probably a good few thousand dollars' worth lost forever, quietly turning a vast profit for no one at all.
similarly 1 year ago
Years ago, I read about a guy who'd thrown away an old laptop, forgetting he had bitcoin in there that today would be worth millions.
Load More Replies... Malcom Willis 1 year ago
THIS GENIUS ANTONFASTHACK100@ GMAIL . COME HELPED ME RECOVER OVER 50,000 USD WORTH OF CRYPTO WHICH I HAD LAST TO SO SC@M INVESTMENT ONLINE. Everyone makes mistakes. I made mine by falling for some false promises I got online. But when we make these mistakes, let’s seek solutions. I am glad I was wise enough to research until I found the contact of this genius who literally saved me by helping me trace and recover my money. If you need help, I urge you to contact ANTON on his information below; EMAIL: ANTONFASTHACK100@ GMAIL,C0M Whstsapp: +.1..814..329..3675 Tele*Gram: +.1..254..251..0647
Jina Bryte 1 year ago
If you are still wondering if you can recover bitcoins stolen or lost to scammers is possible, the answer is YES as long as you have the right contact. This genius Anton Romavona just helped me recover over 17,000 (0.23 btc) that I lost to fake investment company. I had invested smaller amounts and made profit until I invested 17,000 then they stopped replying. I immediately contacted a friend of mine who gave me Anton’s contact. It took him just 3 days to get my money back. IF YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE CONTACT ANTON ON EMAIL: ANTONFASTHACK100 @ GMAIL,C0M
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Now if only he had written his password down on a Post-It note he wouldn't have had this problem
Sophia Rosie 10 months ago
I thought I'd lost everything when I invested 450,000 dollars in a cryptocurrency project that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. I felt devastated, foolish, and helpless. But then I remembered that there's always hope. I reached out to (GLOBALLY RECLAIM ⓐ GMAIL COM ) What'sApp +1 (603) 702 ( 4335 ) and their expert team sprang into action. With their help, I was able to recover 95% of my lost investment. I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for a second chance. I realized that even in the darkest moments, there's always a way forward. If I can recover from this, so can you. Don't give up if you're facing a similar situation. Reach out to GLOBALLY RECLAIM for guidance and support. Remember, you're not alone, and there's always hope for recovery."
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