Breaking News: Ripple’s Co-Creator Chris Larsen Suffered a $150M Digital Currency Theft!
US legal enforcement papers have just been released, showing that Ripple’s co-creator Chris Larsen became the sufferer of a huge digital currency robbery in January of 2024. The offender? A violation of his LastPass password administrator.
An astounding 283 million XRP, valued at about $150 million at that time, disappeared after cybercriminals undermined private keys kept in Larsen’s LastPass account. This all leads back to the well-known LastPass data infringement of 2022.
The investigation was headed by the digital currency investigator ZachXBT. Larsen, famous for co-creating Ripple Labs in 2012, verified the assault earlier this year.
## LastPass’s 2022 Security Disaster
LastPass, a favored password administrator, is meant to keep your passwords and private information under lock and key. But in 2022, things went terribly wrong.
In August, unapproved access to portions of their development setting resulted in the stealing of source code and technical secrets.
Then, in November of 2022, attackers used the previously stolen information to break into consumer data kept on a third-party cloud service.
The infringement exposed unencrypted data (like website URLs) and encrypted data (including usernames and passwords). The security of that encrypted data relied on the strength of each user’s master password.
## Larsen’s XRP Pilfered
Newly unsealed court papers reveal that Larsen, according to ZachXBT, kept his digital currency wallet private keys on LastPass. Following his security procedures, the physical records of these keys were ruined after being entered into the password administrator.
As a result of the LastPass data compromise in 2022, encrypted passcodes were exposed, and unlawful use of the account vault information was employed to infiltrate the digital profiles of numerous affected individuals, Larsen included.
At present valuations, these XRPs hold a value exceeding $707 million.
Around 283 million XRPs were pilfered from Larsen’s digital wallet in January 2024, with this unapproved entry serving as the immediate instigator.
