This Hacker Was Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Hacking Crypto Companies In Vietnam

JAKARTA Vietnamese hackers who have stolen crypto from one of the domestic crypto exchanges in 2020 will face up to 10 years in prison. Vietnam's courts announced the sentence recently.

The hacker was charged with extortion against the crypto trading boss. He was also ordered to return the money worth 300 million to Vietnam (about $13,000) which he had taken from the crypto tycoon.

The hacker was named Nham Hoang Khang. On Friday 6 January, the People's Court officially announced a sentence of 10 years in prison for him, as reported by local media VN Express.

The boss of the crypto trading company is Vu Ngoc Chau. He founded crypto exchanges in 2018. Initially he facilitated potential buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies, and took transaction fees for every transaction on its platform. Users are required to open an account and provide personal information such as phone numbers, email addresses, and copies of identity documents.

In October 2020, Khang used his cell phone to create multiple accounts on the platform. He found that the crypto exchange website T-rex.exchange, has several vulnerabilities that can be exploited to obtain data and digital currencies.

The following month, hackers managed to gain control of T-rex employees' accounts and around 30,000 USDT. The team detected unusual transactions and locked accounts to prevent further operations with cryptocurrencies.

Once he discovered that he no longer had access to compromised accounts, Khang obtained 29,000 subscribers' personal data and made a large number of fake orders, threatening with further attacks.

Launching Bitcoin.com News, he also demanded to be paid 20,000 US dollars, or he would reveal that the exchange had been hacked. Chau, the owner, received many threats and eventually ordered his employees to send Khang 300 million please. He filed a complaint with law enforcement authorities in mid-2021.

In Vietnam, cryptocurrencies have not been legalized or regulated. Despite its popularity among traders and investors, bitcoin and the like remains not recognized as assets or means of payment by Bank Negara Vietnam and Vietnamese law.