The Balancer DEX Faces DNS Attack
Popular decentralized exchange (DEX) Balancer experienced a Domain Name System (DNS) attack on September 19. Hackers compromised Balancer’s domain names, redirecting users and their transactions to malicious destinations. The Balancer team quickly alerted users about interacting with the platform’s user interface (UI) and advised against any further interactions until the issue is resolved.
According to Balancer’s Discord channel, a Cloudflare alert was set up to warn users about the attack. Independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported that the hacker’s address received $238,000 worth of stolen tokens. Arkham’s inflow data indicates that a total of $253,044 in tokens were stolen, with most of the exploit occurring within the first few hours.
The hackers transferred approximately $100,000 worth of tokens to another address, which saw deposits exceeding $25,000 sent to the MEXC crypto exchange. On-chain transactions revealed that the hackers are attempting to bridge funds to Ethereum.
Security audit company PeckShield discovered that the hacker also bridged ETH worth $14,500 to Bitcoin using the cross-chain protocol Thorchain.
Protecting Against DNS Attacks
DNS attacks are relatively rare in the crypto industry but have occurred before with Curve Finance and PancakeSwap. BlockSec analysts believe that while DNS attacks can trick users, they are difficult to perform and unlikely to become a common attack vector due to technical challenges and limited profitability.
Hot Take: Balancer DEX Falls Victim to DNS Attack
The popular decentralized exchange Balancer recently suffered a Domain Name System (DNS) attack, compromising its domain names and redirecting users to malicious destinations. This incident highlights the importance of robust security measures in the crypto industry. Despite the attack, Balancer’s team is actively working towards recovering the platform’s user interface and has advised users to avoid interacting with it until further notice. While DNS attacks are uncommon in the crypto space, they can have significant consequences when they occur. It is crucial for platforms and users to stay vigilant and implement strong security protocols to protect against such attacks in the future.
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