In an unusual development in the one of the largest cryptocurrency theft ever, a hacker who stole more than $600 million in tokens has sent back a large portion of the stolen funds.
The affected firm Poly Network tweeted on Wednesday saying hackers had returned $260 million worth of the digital assets taken in a heist a day earlier valued at $613 million.
A hacker of hackers claiming to be behind the hack said they did it “for fun” and wanted to “expose the vulnerability” before others could exploit it, according to digital messages shared by Elliptic, crypto tracking firm, and Chainalysis. “I am not very interested in money,” the hacker added.
According to media reports, the hacker’s identity, and how exactly funds were stolen, remain unknown.
Human rights experts working with the UN on Thursday called on countries to pause the sale and transfer of spyware and other surveillance technology until they set rules governing its use, to ensure it won’t impinge upon rights.
