Galxe Faces Major Security Breach: Web3 Platform Tied to Recent Spike in Crypto Attacks
Summary:
Galxe, a Web3 community platform, became a victim of a security breach on its website on October 6th, causing the website to be down for about an hour. The breach targeted its Domain Name System (DNS) record, redirecting users to a malicious site that stole from their wallets. After website restoration, Galxe has not confirmed the site's safety. The hack is linked with two attacks on the Balancer protocol and perhaps associated with Russia. This event is part of an upsurge in attacks and losses to Web3 projects in recent times.
Web3 community platform, Galxe's website experienced unexpected downtime for approximately an hour on October 6. The company took to Twitter to notify users about the initial site outage and, about 40 minutes later, to confirm a security infringement impacting its Domain Name System (DNS) record. In a cautionary measure, Galxe advised against accessing its domain until the issue was fully resolved. Despite restoring the website, Galxe has not yet clarified if the site is secure for use. Additionally, some users noted that Google had blocked the website post-restoration.
A Web3 cybersecurity provider elaborated on the security breach stating Galxe's DNS records were manipulated, redirecting users to a fraudulent website designed to steal from users' wallets. Moreover, crypto analyst ZachXBT disclosed that funds were drained from Galxe -- a continuation of fraudulent activity that persisted even after the restoration of the website. The compromised wallet accumulated roughly $160,000 as of 17:15 UTC. Interestingly, ZachXBT drew a connection between the Galxe hacker and an unseen entity involved in two attacks on the Balancer protocol in September.
The latter Balancer attack resulted in a loss of $238,000. The Balancer team labelled the incident as a socially engineered attack on its DNS server, orchestrated by a well-known crypto wallet hijacker, Angel Drainer. Intriguingly, blockchain security firm SlowMist hypothesized that the intruder had ties to Russia.
The third fiscal quarter of this year witnessed a significant surge in losses experienced by Web3 projects in comparison to Q3 2022 as revealed by Immunefi's recent safety report. The number of attacks escalated from 30% to 76% on a year-to-year basis, accruing losses amounting to nearly $686 million in Q3 2023 alone. The costliest mishap within this period involved the Mixin hack that transpired on September 25.
Published At
10/6/2023 5:33:42 PM
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