{"id":59138,"date":"2023-09-10T05:24:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T09:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/crypto\/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-falls-victim-to-twitter-hack-beware-of-shared-links\/"},"modified":"2023-09-10T05:24:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T09:24:30","slug":"ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-falls-victim-to-twitter-hack-beware-of-shared-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=59138","title":{"rendered":"Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Falls Victim to Twitter Hack \u2013 Beware of Shared Links"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ethereum (ETH)\u00a0co-founder\u00a0Vitalik Buterin<\/strong>\u00a0has reportedly had his X (formerly Twitter) account compromised.<\/p>\n

In a now-deleted tweet, the hacked account claimed that\u00a0Consensys\u00a0<\/strong>will launch a commemorative NFT to celebrate the arrival of the Proto-Danksharding feature to Ethereum.<\/p>\n

The hacker used Buterin’s account to share a malevolent link, enticing victims with the promise of the free NFT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, once victims connected their wallets, their funds were stolen.<\/p>\n

On September 9,\u00a0Dmitry Buterin<\/strong>, Vitalik’s father, announced the hack on X and said that Vitalik was working on regaining control of his account.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDisregard this post, apparently Vitalik has been hacked. He is working on restoring access,\u201d Vitalik’s father said in the tweet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/oembed><\/figure>\n

Users Fell Victim to the Scam<\/h2>\n

The scam has led to significant financial losses for victims who fell prey and clicked on the malicious link.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, over $691,000 was collectively lost by individuals who clicked on the deceptive link.<\/p>\n

He revealed that the most valuable NFT stolen so far was CryptoPunk #3983, valued at approximately $250,543.<\/p>\n

<\/oembed><\/figure>\n

A number of crypto users also reported that they lost some valuable NFTs to the scam.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

One X user, Satoshi 767, questioned Buterin’s security measures and suggested that he should take responsibility for the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to be the one to say it, but Vitalik should take accountability for his poor op-sec and compensate those affected,\u201d he stated, before implying that he believes Buterin\u2019s oversight led to the attack.<\/p>\n

“The only way this isn\u2019t negligence on Vitalik part is if someone at X internally compromised the account, or if he was coerced in person by a criminal who threatened violence. I highly doubt that\u2019s what happened. Most likely, this was a SIM swap.”<\/p>\n

However, ZachXBT countered these claims, highlighting that Buterin’s high profile makes him a prime target for various hacking attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He emphasized that it is premature to conclude whether it was a SIM swap attack and pointed out the possibility of an insider or other forms of manipulation.<\/p>\n

Hacks and Rug Pulls Responsible For Loss of $1.2 Billion in 2023<\/h2>\n

So far this year, Web3 platforms have\u00a0lost over $1.2 billion\u00a0in hacks and rug pulls, according to a report from Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi.<\/p>\n

The report revealed a total of 211 separate incidents contributing to this massive sum, with the month of August alone accounting for $23.4 million in losses.<\/p>\n

The surge in losses during August mostly contributed to projects hosted on the newly launched Ethereum Layer 2 Base network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As per the report, Ethereum faced the most significant number of attacks, with five distinct incidents affecting protocols built on the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n