steem
My 4-Day Log of being hacked on Steemit! (TRUE STORY)
last year
trevonjb69 in steem
This is a true, minute by minute, 4 day log of what I did while my account was hacked. Enjoy
This will be a live log of my ordeal of being hacked and locked out of steemit
July 15
10:52AM: So apparently my account is one of the accounts that was hacked and stolen as I just found out. They say that we should be getting our accounts back soon. So this shouldn't take to long so I'm going to just type her about what I'm doing during the meantime and just post this later today when I get my account back.
8:17PM: So still no word on when we can get back into our accounts. I figure by the morning everything should be straightened out. I'll check back in then.
10:13AM: My last post about transparency just paid out $1,043! 532 SD and 1 million VESTS! Too bad its technically not mine right now lol. Oh well, I'm keeping the faith. They will get everything sorted out in no time.
11:36AM: I just recieved an email from support it reads:
"Hi,
We are working hard to get updates on Steemit. Please standby, this may take some time. If the account was comprimised, funds stolen will be reimbursed. Because Steemit is down for maintenance, please check google news if you have not seen the posts about thursdays hack."
Very good news!!!
July 16th
11:10AM: So the site is now down for maintenance now and that makes me feel a little better. I mean kind of an evil feel better. "IF I CAN'T PLAY THEN NO ONE CAN!" type of vibe....and I'm cool with that.
12:50PM: Ned just reported to the slack saying feed saying "We are bringing things back to normal and cleaning up residual issues from Thursday’s attack. Please allow some time for things to go back to normal. Thanks for your patience again". So this is good news the site is still down but maybe my account will be back in my hands soon.
1:32PM: Someone is saying they found a way to upvote unlimited times and get curation for the votes also. I really wish people would stop trying to game the system but I'm hearing this is good for the platform because it is good to get these bugs worked out early rather than late so that makes me feel better.
3:16PM Site is still down. No word from Ned or anything. Being patient. I know this means they are doing a lot. If it was down and came back 5 minutes later then I know they didn't change much so this is good.
3:47PM: The site just came online and this is the message that reads at the top:
"After successfully containing the hacker on the evening of July 14, today we temporarily took down Steemit.com to mitigate a DDOS attack. The silver lining is that this timeout allows us to begin implementing an advanced security protocol, which includes the deployment of blockchain-based multi-factor authentication. As the website is being upgraded, all user accounts and tokens are secure. The Steemit team has been working around the clock to develop state-of-the-art blockchain security protocols and account recovery systems. We have consulted with and hired highly credentialed security experts to help us implement these solutions. As some of our users have mentioned, the Steem blockchain was never hacked. Likewise, our servers were never hacked. Instead, the hacker exploited browser-side vulnerabilities, a challenge that every Fortune 500 company faces as well. After patching the problem, we are now at work on a new multi-factor authentication solution that would prevent similar attacks from happening again. Our top priority is protecting you, our users. This process may take a few days, but we operate under the maxim that it is better to be safe than sorry. Steemit will be back up and running soon, and anyone whose accounts were compromised will be reactivated and fully reimbursed.
Thank you for your patience and support. Additional details will be posted here.
-Ned"
So that is an interesting statement. He says, "Our top priority is protecting you, our users. This process may take a few days". But then he continues to say, "Steemit will be back up and running soon".
Does he mean it may be a few days til I get my account back or to get EVERYONES account back. I don't even want to think about going a few days without posting to steemit. I have nothing else to
do besides steemit. No other site pays me. I hope to hear something soon. This sucks.
8:46PM: As the end of day 2 without Steemit or access to my steemit account comes to a close I am starving. Staving to post. Starving to comment. Life sustaining resources are running low. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to go at least another 12 hours without Steemit because I'm sure I will not have my account back tonight or early morning, and by tomorrow afternoon would be a miracle. Reality is setting in and I don't know how to feel. A hot chick with nice boobs posted a makeup tutorial and made $30,000 (as of this moment) and meanwhile I
was locked out. Like a boy who didn't get picked in a pick-up basketball game. By standing. It is turning out to be a harsh week. How will I spend my spare time? Nothing besides my job is paying me for my actions. Youtube and Netflix have become obsolete as for there is no rewards system for my viewing time. Food has become bland for I am not being paid to eat it. Any daily task have become irritating. Taking out the trash. Showering. Brushing my teeth. None of which reward me for doing them. Hopefully I can make it through day 3. Signing off.
July 17th
6:10AM: A awaken to see that Steemit is now back up and people are logged in. No new word on my hacked account. The feeling of being left out has returned. Everyone is posting and enjoying steemit
like any other day. Whilst I sit on the sideline.
7:42AM: Someone just mentioned in the slack that there will be a hard fork at 11:00AM EST and that this will reset passwords or something like that. A lot of mixed answers. I'm not too techie so I don't really understand.
7:45AM: Ok so the hardfork is to help security on the site in the future with 2FA and other features. Rumors floating around that reimbursements and account recovery will start at 11:00!! I'm getting pretty excited. This maybe the end of my wait!!!
10:16AM: Ok so Dan just posted this article: https://steemit.com/blockchain/@dan/steemit-releases-groundbreaking-account-recovery-solution it talks mostly about FUTURE hacks and doesn't say much about
already hacked accounts. I'm getting a little worried. Seems like less focus has been put towards compromised accounts like mine and getting them recovered. I hope we don't get put off for much longer.
10:59AM: Incoming hard fork lets see what happens.
11:00AM: Hard Fork is in effect site is down.
11:09AM: Site still down. No worries all good things take time. I took a look at the rich list on steemd.com/richlist to see where my accounts stands. I'm now at 514 which is higher than I was before my account was stolen so that means even though I cant log in my sp is still growing. This is good to see because losing my place on the richlist was one of my concerns. I don't want to fall behind.
11:12AM: The site is back. I'm going to attempt to login with my old password. I doubt this does anything new as no instructions were given in the slack from developers on how to go about recovering.
11:12AM: Nope still same message.
11:13AM: Well now that the hard fork is over maybe focus will shift to the compromised accounts now. I feel like I'm on a life raft drifting away waiting to see a rescue plane fly over. Helpless.
3:09PM: Nothing really new. Everyone one is at recess playing and me, I'm still in timeout watching. Bittrex has just made Steem wallets available again. I guess I'll price watch and trade since that's
about the only thing involving steem I can do.
4:36PM: I just wrote ned in the slack channel asking if I can just send him a picture ID to prove my identity. I just need my password. I don't need to be reimbursed.
4:39PM: Lol I just got an email from ned saying the account recovery interface will arrive at the latest tomorrow. I think I annoyed him. But I got the info I needed. Now I can relax. He said at the latest tomorrow so I have my mind set for 7/19 just to not be anxious. I just feel like I missed out on a lot of money by not being on. I seem money hungry and I am. I have a girlfriend who is 5 months pregnant who is depending on me and I told her that I would get our new apartment with my earnings from Steemit and she doesn't believe me lol. We are moving at the end of this month and I'm one $1,000 post away from my goal. She doesn't believe in any of this crypto stuff and this is my chance to prove her wrong and get a pat on the back from her. So hopefully I can get my account back in time to reach my goal.
July 18th
9:02AM: Day 4. Still no Steemit access. The site has been off and on today so I think and hope it's because they are still working on recovery solutions.
12:32PM: Someone just posted a blog about a way to recover your account but their method involves a lot of code and I know very little about coding. I want to try it because the instructions are very good. But I'm afraid one
slip and I could seriously mess something up. I will wait until the end of today and if they haven't fixed it I will dive in and try to recover my own account tomorrow.
1:02PM: I just recorded a video updating my youtube subscribers on what is going on and why I have been absent. I'm tempted to create a new account and post to it. I hate not being able to play.
4:58PM: I just made a new account. Its @TrevonJames if anything else at least I got my name right? This will be my account I post to and just withdraw my Steem Dollars from as my main account is already at 3,000+ sp it would feel like a waste to upgrade my steem power with this one.
5:14PM: So I posted my video on my new account and its up to 7 votes and .07 cent so far. Not expecting much but I am hoping I hit a jackpot. I could probably match my main account SP with a big payout like the makeup chick but, that's not expected at all.
10:52PM: .... 18 cent.....
July 19th
12:15PM: So it's day infinity and still no access. This is the day I said I figured my page would be back in my hands because Ned said we would be back online by the end of yesterday. But, none the less, still no access to
my account. It's actually starting to make me mad that I see the site growing the way it is. This happened to me at the worst time. I can't believe my luck. I've been getting emails from ned daily but he just keeps saying basically
the same thing. "We will have it straight soon". "Please give us ample time." It's so hard for me to not flip out but it's not their fault I got hacked. Well, it kind of is because you can't build a site that is programmed to
give away free money and not expect security issues. I mean if you can come up with a brilliant plan to protect the site AFTER the hack then why didn't you just come up with the plan pre-release. I dont know. I've been holding this
rant in for about a week. Ned if you're reading this in the future I apologize but please feel my pain. Your site is my gateway out of my situation. So another day. Still waiting. I will check back in soon. On a brighter note, I found
an old payroll card in my wallet and for shits and giggles I called it to see if there was enough money on it to buy a burger or something. Turns out there's $96.00 on it so I'm taking the Mrs. to dinner and a movie later tonight. I need to get out and get my mind off of this.
4:30PM: NED JUST ANNOUNCED IN THE SLACK THAT THE RECOVERY INTERFACE IS DONE AND WE CAN LOG IN WITH OUR OLD PASSWORDS AND SET NEW ONES! I'M AWAY FROM HOME BUT I'M ABOUT TO TRY IT ON MY PHONE! I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! BRB!
4:33PM: IT WORKED!!!!!!!!! I'M SO MAD I'M NOT HOME TO UPLOAD THIS!!!! WHEN I GET HOME IT WILL BE TOO LATE IN MY EYES TO POST SO I WILL SAVE THIS LOG FOR TOMORROW! Its crazy that as soon as I vented and said how I really felt, a few hours later it was fixed! I kind of feel important lol! The rant that I had at 12:15 today is very similar to what I posted in the slack channel, its like I put some pep in their step lol I was one of the few people that was in contact with Ned throughout the ordeal. Most people weren't getting responses from them and were relying on me to get info on progress. I'm kind of a big deal. MAN! I'M SO MAD I'M NOT HOME TO POST THIS! I know this may seem like a not so big deal but this was my first experience having anything stolen from me online while I could still see it! Imagine having your car stolen from you, yet you can see it from across the street. The only problem is the person that stole it is Feddy Kruger! You cant get to it! Its anxiety to the 10th power! So tomorrow I'm going to post this for the world to see my journey!
J
