Feb 01, 2024 05:17
Story Published Sept 10
Update Added Sept 16: Jump to update
In a shocking turn of events, Vitalik Buterin's official Twitter account was compromised by hackers on Saturday, September 9, 2023. The breach led to a loss of nearly $700,000 in cryptocurrencies, highlighting the vulnerabilities even high-profile figures face in the digital realm.
The Deceptive Tweet
The hackers, with just a single tweet, managed to deceive a significant number of Buterin's followers. The tweet announced a purported free NFT giveaway from Consensys, a renowned blockchain technology company.
This was supposedly in celebration of the release of
proto-darksharding, a much-anticipated update to the Ethereum protocol. The update, as claimed, would reduce the costs associated with Ethereum sidechains, commonly referred to as rollups.
The 'Drainer' ExploitMany followers, seeing the tweet from the official account of Ethereum's creator, were lured into a trap. The link provided in the tweet redirected users to a malicious website designed to exploit their trust.
This type of scam, known as a 'drainer' tricks users into connecting their cryptocurrency wallets to a seemingly legitimate website. Once connected, the hacker can then transfer all assets from the victim's wallet to their own.
High-Value NFTs Stolen
In addition to the stolen cryptocurrencies, the hackers made away with two high-value 'Crypto Punks' NFTs. These digital collectibles have gained immense popularity and value in recent years.
The stolen NFTs were priced at a staggering 153.62 ETH (approximately USD 250,000) and 58.18 ETH (USD 95,000) respectively.
Update:
We finally have a response from Vitalik, apparent a sim swap was the method used.
Considering this involves ;social engineering' AKA fooling an employee of the phone company in to switching a phone line from the legitimate customer to phone controlled by the hacker.
While the hacker is blame,, at least a little of the blame must go to T-Mobile whos employees should be properly trained to spot a scam that is several years old.
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Author: Mark Pippen
London Newsroom
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