Key Takeaways
- Australian police successfully decoded a cryptocurrency wallet locked by a coded backup, recovering approximately $5.9 million AUD.
- The breakthrough was credited to an Australian Federal Police (AFP) data scientist nicknamed the crypto safe cracker.
- The investigation involved identifying password-protected notes and a cryptic image on a suspect’s phone, believed to be a wallet backup.
- The suspect faced a potential 10-year penalty for refusing to disclose crypto wallet keys.
- This recovery follows another successful digital asset retrieval by the same AFP team, totaling over $3 million.
Australian Police Crack Coded Crypto Wallet, Recover Millions
Australian police have achieved a remarkable feat by deciphering a coded cryptocurrency wallet backup, leading to the recovery of approximately 9 million Australian dollars, equivalent to $5.9 million USD. The complex operation was highlighted by Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett, who referred to the effort as miraculous work during a recent speech.
The successful decoding is largely attributed to a data scientist within the AFP, who has earned the moniker crypto safe cracker for his specialized skills. This individual played a crucial role in unlocking the digital assets.
Unraveling a Digital Mystery
The investigation began with an inquiry into a criminal suspect allegedly involved in accumulating cryptocurrency by selling illicit tech products to other criminals. During their examination of the suspect’s digital devices, AFP officers discovered password-protected notes on a mobile phone. Further scrutiny revealed an image containing a sequence of random numbers and words.
Commissioner Barrett explained that the numbers were arranged in six distinct groups, featuring over 50 possible combinations. The AFP’s digital forensics team deduced that this data had the potential to be related to a cryptocurrency wallet. Notably, the suspect allegedly refused to relinquish the keys to his crypto wallet, an act punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment in Australia.
💡 Barrett emphasized the critical importance of this recovery, stating, We knew if we couldn’t open the crypto wallet, and if the alleged offender was sentenced, upon release, he would leave prison a multi-millionaire, all from the profits of organized crime. For our members, that was not an acceptable outcome.
The Decoding Process
A breakthrough came when one of the AFP’s data scientists recognized that the suspect had intentionally complicated the recovery process by presenting the numerical data in a misleading manner, likening it to a crypto booby prize. To unlock the potential 24-word seed phrase, the data scientist identified a pattern where removing the first number from each sequence was necessary.
The data scientist noted that some of the number strings felt wrong and they looked like they were not computer-generated. He further explained that these specific strings appeared to have been manually altered by a human, with numbers added to the beginning of certain sequences.
✅ This was not an isolated success for the AFP’s digital forensics unit. In a separate operation, the same data scientist was instrumental in recovering over $3 million in digital assets using a distinct decoding methodology.
In both instances, the seized cryptocurrency was secured by the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce. Should the courts order confiscation, these funds will be transferred to a commonwealth account. Subsequently, the Home Affairs Minister will oversee their redistribution to support crime prevention initiatives.
Final Thoughts
The Australian Federal Police’s successful decryption of a coded cryptocurrency wallet demonstrates the evolving nature of law enforcement capabilities in combating digital crime. The recovery of significant assets highlights the importance of specialized expertise and innovative approaches in navigating the complexities of cryptocurrency.