Hacker pleads guilty in Australia's first crypto-theft bust, 100,000 XRP stolen

The perpetrator, Katherine Nguyen, is the first Australian found guilty of a crime involving cryptocurrency theft in the country.

Australian authorities arrested Nguyen for stealing 100,000 XRP after she hacked the email of a 56-year old man, of the same surname, according to a report published on October 2018.

Authorities charged her for hacking the man's email account, changing his password, and setting up two-factor authentication to deny him access from his account.

The detectives further claimed she accessed the victim's cryptocurrency account and stole over 100,000 XRP, worth $27,000 at current prices.

The victim told police he didn't have access to his account for two days as a direct result of the hack.

Investigators later discovered Nguyen converted the XRP to Bitcoin on a Chinese crypto exchange and laundered them into several wallets.

"It's a very significant crime, and it's the first we know of its type in Australia where an individual has been arrested and charged for the technology-enabled theft of cryptocurrency."

Given the relative ease at liquidating stolen funds, cryptocurrency holders make ideal targets-emphasizing the importance of online anonymity, cyber-security, and proper internet hygiene.

As law enforcement authorities become more sophisticated, a greater number of hackers and scammers will likely be brought to justice.

For Katherine Nguyen, she is scheduled to be sentenced in October and there is a good chance she will face jail time for the hack.