Fantom Foundation Loses $650,000 in Phishing Attack
The Fantom Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the growth of the Fantom ecosystem, has fallen victim to a phishing attack. The attack targeted the foundation’s wallets on both the Ethereum network and the Fantom Network, resulting in a loss of over $650,000. The foundation’s wallets were compromised, but the networks themselves were not hacked. CertiK, a blockchain security firm, reported that the Fantom Foundation lost $470,000 on Fantom and at least $187,000 on Ethereum.
After the attack, Etherscan data revealed that the scammers consolidated the stolen funds into one account, which now holds at least $7 million worth of various coins. The address associated with the account has been identified as a facilitator of multiple phishing campaigns targeting crypto and DeFi projects.
Zero-Day Exploit and Falling FTM Prices
The phishing attack on Fantom Foundation was reportedly facilitated by a zero-day exploit on Chrome, a web browser. A zero-day exploit is a vulnerability that is unknown to developers until it is exploited by threat actors. In this case, the exploit allowed the attackers to drain funds from the foundation’s wallets.
As a result of this incident, FTM prices have dropped by approximately 5% and are now approaching multi-month lows. If selling pressure continues, the coin may fall below its 2022 lows and reverse all gains made in the first half of 2023. FTM reached highs of $0.65 in February 2023 before declining to its current trading price of around $0.17.
Hot Take: Phishing Attack Highlights Security Risks for Crypto Projects
This phishing attack on Fantom Foundation serves as a reminder of the security risks faced by crypto projects. It emphasizes the importance of taking necessary precautions to protect wallets and networks from such attacks. Crypto users should ensure that they keep their browsers and software up to date to mitigate the risk of zero-day exploits. Additionally, it is crucial for projects to implement robust security measures and educate their users about phishing and other cyber threats in order to safeguard their funds.