Hackers and hacking are present in all industries. Healthcare, finance, gaming you name it there has probably been some hack committed that has caused a nuisance.
Web3 has not been shy from scammers trying to make a quick turnover through fraudulent means. After all, the space is still evolving and there is not much set in place in regards to legislation and legal policy that protects users legally.
We look more into some of the biggest hacks committed on blockchain organisations, the outcomes and how you can stay safe when gaming on the blockchain.
@ Futurism
Some examples of Crypto related hacks
Below we’ll list some of the most notorious attacks in crypto gaming’s short history. If you are familiar with it already, these companies and projects that were targeted may come as a surprise. No one is truly safe on the blockchain it seems…
Sky Mavis
Our first crypto gaming scandal comes from Sky Mavis. They’re the team behind Axie Infinity review, one of the most played NFT related games currently out.
Back in March of 2022, a hack was executed that meant a whopping $625 million was stolen from the Ronin Network. This is the blockchain used to build and scale the Axie Infinity ecosystem.
Private security keys were used by the hacker to have access to the stolen funds through compromised nodes. As a result funds were transferred to and from the Ronin chain.
It took officials from the Sky Mavis team almost a week to notice the initial wrongdoings. If it was not for a random user attempting to withdraw a further 5000 $ETH, then who knows how long it would have taken for action to be taken!
Luckily funds were returned and Axie Infinity has grown tremendously well.
Solana Blockchain
Solana was one of the biggest tokens by market cap until the recent FTX ordeal that saw millions wiped from it. Back in 2022 amidst the hype for Solana, the blockchain fell victim to a hacker and their crafty ways.
Around $5.2 million was drained from across over 7000 wallets back in August of last year. As the attacks were felt, it caused the price of Solana to go down considerably, at around 8% at the time.
Users who had their assets within hot wallets, so Phantom, Trust Wallet etc, were the ones who fell victim.
One interesting thing about this attack was the attacker’s intentions. They asked to keep some of the stolen crypto as a reward for finding the flaws in Solana’s infrastructure.
Solana is a highly active blockchain. Teams and developers build games, NFTs and dApps on their. With how quick the transaction speed is and the interoperability present, it has proven for quite some time to be a really optimistic blockchain despite all the setbacks it has faced.
@ Bitcoinist
Nomad Blockchain Bridge
Our 3rd example of a top crypto related hack comes from Nomad. Nomad are another bridge that allows the interoperability model to be used. Transaction from different blockchains can happen.
When Nomad bridge was hacked, a further $200 million was stolen by thieves. Nomad described themselves before this attack as a “secure cross-chain messaging” blockchain service.
Clearly not in this case.
A flaw in the code allowed attackers to withdraw more funds than what were initially deposited. The house of cards fell as more hackers noticed this and quickly acted on it.
It was through a simple update to their services hackers winded their way in. Crazy stuff.
How to keep your crypto safe then?
After all that hacking talk, you’re probably wondering, “how do I stop that from happening to me?” Or at least, “how can I lessen the chances of it happening?”
The answers are quite simple, they are as follows:
- Buy a Ledger Hardware Wallet
- Don’t store your assets on chain
- Keep credentials private
- Always have security measures and passwords in place
Whilst seeming tough at first glance, safety on the blockchain is fairly straightforward. Once you familiarise yourself with the jargon and know how, it becomes almost muscle memory.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this quick guide. Always perform the necessary due diligence on the blockchain list.
Happy investing!
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