Chinese police arrested hackers who stole cryptocurrency

According to Xinhua, China's state-run newspaper, Chinese police have arrested three people suspected of stealing $87 million worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Xi'an police initially reportedly investigated a complaint from a resident who claimed that hackers stole 100 million yuan (approximately $15 million) in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies from his computer.

A preliminary investigation by a specially created task force found that the hackers used a remote attack method to gain access to and control of cryptocurrency accounts belonging to the victim. The investigation continued, and three months later, the task force, with the help of a “well-known Internet company,” was able to locate a suspect named Zhou. Law enforcement officers kept their distance and monitored Zhou's further activities for two months. While watching him, the police were able to identify two more of his accomplices. 

Police officials say that in total the three hackers managed to steal approximately 600 million yuan (approximately $87 million). Police departments from three provinces continue to work together on the investigation. It will be interesting to see if law enforcement can recover even more stolen cryptocurrencies.

Currently, Zhou, from Hunan Province, and his two alleged accomplices are in custody. 

In July, a joint Chinese law enforcement effort led to the arrest of a malware vendor who had accumulated more than $2 million in cryptocurrency by mining it using the computing power of other people's computers. Over the past couple of months, Tianjin police have made several arrests of miners who were stealing electricity to power their mining rigs, which were subsequently seized by authorities.

According to www.ccn.com