On Tuesday, the Solana-based non-fungible token project Monkey Kingdom, which received notable backing from US DJ Steve Aoki, announced via Twitter that hackers had successfully stolen $ 1.3 million from the crypto funds of the community by exploiting a security vulnerability on Discord. The company is now looking to turn things around before the holidays with the help of a compensation fund, report Cointelegraph.
According to its developers, the hack first happened through Grape Breach, a popular solution that helps verify users on Solana. The hackers then exploited the breach to gain control of an administrative account, which posted a link to phishing in the Monkey Kingdom Discord announcement channel. Users who followed the link and logged in their wallets expected to receive an NFT, but the hackers tricked them into emptying their accounts.
Tragically, the hack happened when users lined up for the second drop of the project. Monkey kingdom made of of 2,222 NFTs generated by a specific algorithm around Sun Wukong, a character in Chinese folklore, otherwise known as ” Monkey king “. All proceeds from the initial sale of NFTs were to be donated to charity, with the aim of supporting Asian communities around the world. It was one of the most successful NFT projects in Asia.
A Twitter user, “commstar”, claims to have lost 650 SOL worth approximately $ 120,400 as a result of the cyberattack. Fortunately, not all tokens have been lost. Monkey Kingdom staff have set aside a compensation fund for victims. The company is on track to fully reimburse those affected. The timing and process for distributing the funds has not yet been disclosed.
The attacks ofphishingare not a surprise for the cryptocurrency industry. Over the past year, hackers have repeatedly targeted Discord users and exploited the platform itself to orchestrate such NFT hacks. Crypto exchange platforms, on the other hand, do their best to secure networks. The future will tell us if they will ever succeed!
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Salome Guerin
If cryptocurrencies are synonymous with financial freedom, then they must play a key role in the financial empowerment of women. With the right education, crypto can be a powerful tool in fighting the battle against gender inequalities.
