After Compromising Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin's Twitter Account, Hacker Obtains Over $690,000 From Users.

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The initial detection of the breach occurred last week after a publication on Buterin’s platform revealed the launch of a collection of commemorative non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by Consensys, a software provider, as reported by Decrypt.

New Delhi: The Twitter account of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, a prominent cryptocurrency, was compromised by a hacker. The hacker exploited the account to distribute a corrupted link through a tweet, resulting in the theft of $691,000 from users who interacted with the link.

The initial detection of the hack occurred last week, as reported by Decrypt when a publication on Buterin’s platform disclosed the launch of a collection of commemorative non-fungible tokens (NFTs) developed by Consensys, a software supplier.

The inclusion of a malevolent hyperlink led a substantial number of individuals, totaling 4.9 million in follower count, to establish a connection between their digital wallets and initiate the process of generating a non-fungible token (NFT). However, contrary to their expectations, this action inadvertently facilitated an opportunity for an unauthorized individual to illicitly appropriate their financial resources.

Although people promptly expressed concern regarding the fraudulent link, it was Dmitriy “Dima” Buterin, the father of Buterin, who initially verified the compromise of his son’s account.

Please disregard this post, as it appears like Vitalik has experienced a security breach. He expressed on X that Vitalik is now engaged in efforts to reinstate access.

Additionally, as stated in the report, the aforementioned post has been subsequently deleted. However, it is worth noting that other individuals who fell victim to the incident have come forward, reporting the unfortunate loss of their wallet funds. According to blockchain investigator @ZachXBT, it was observed that the hacker managed to acquire a sum exceeding $147,000 over a span of one hour. However, this amount swiftly escalated to $691,000.

As of the initial report of the hack, Buterin has refrained from making any public statements regarding the event.

According to the report, as stated by ZachXPT, the hacker proceeded to transfer a pilfered non-fungible token (NFT) to Buterin.

The extent of the impact on users as a result of this incident remains uncertain.

In the month of June, the X account belonging to Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, was compromised with the intention of endorsing a deceptive cryptocurrency scheme.

Subsequently, the individual’s account commenced endorsing a novel form of digital currency referred to as “$OPENAI,” purportedly underpinned by linguistic models reliant on artificial intelligence.

The unauthorized tweets enticed Murati’s followers to transfer funds to an Ethereum digital wallet address with the promise of receiving complimentary “airdropped” coins.

The social media posts were promptly removed and subsequently reappeared after a short period of time, featuring small modifications in their phrasing.

About The Author:

Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blog, he’s also written for brands including CollegeDunia, Utsav Fashion, and NASSCOM. Naager entered the field of content in an unusual way. He began his career as an insurance sales executive, where he developed an interest in simplifying difficult concepts. He also combines this interest with a love of narrative, which makes him a good writer in the cybersecurity field. In the bottom line, he frequently writes for Craw Security.