On Wednesday, a multi-million dollar Solana hack carried out on the network, users were shocked when they discovered that their wallets had been emptied entirely.
What is the reason behind the Solana hack?
Users claim that cash from well-known internet-connected “hot” wallets like Phantom, Slope, and TrustWallet have been stolen without their knowledge, making the Solana ecosystem the target of cryptocurrency’s most recent hack. The hacker was able to steal about $6 million. The crypto sector is suffering from cyberattacks, Bored Ape Yacht Club confirmed the recent hack, too.
some exploit either with @phantom or @MagicEden, drained 6mil in like 10 mins literally every phantom wallet getting compromised, not sure if any other wallets too pic.twitter.com/dVtksoMeye
— Paladin (@nftpeasant) August 2, 2022
According to blockchain auditors OtterSec, the Solana hack is still ongoing and has already compromised over 8,000 wallets.
Who hacked Solana?
A number of Solana addresses have been connected to the attack (1, 2, 3, 4), and those wallets amassed SOL, SPL, and other Solana-based tokens worth at least $5 million from unwary users.
While the precise attack method is yet unknown, discussion about the vulnerability’s root cause is growing.
Only a token specific delegation or an auto approve or a leaked seed could transfer assets from a wallet on behalf of the user. Since system transfers are happening, that rules out delegation. There is no way an “interaction” could make a wallet vulnerable https://t.co/Pdrmjk1WYZ
— SMS T◎ly, ?? (@aeyakovenko) August 3, 2022
“There is no way an ‘interaction’ could make a wallet vulnerable. Only a token specific delegation or an auto approve or a leaked seed could transfer assets from a wallet on behalf of the user. Since system transfers are happening, that rules out delegation,” Solana Labs cofounder Anatoly Yakovenko further stated.
some exploit either with @phantom or @MagicEden, drained 6mil in like 10 mins literally every phantom wallet getting compromised, not sure if any other wallets too pic.twitter.com/dVtksoMeye
— Paladin (@nftpeasant) August 2, 2022
One of the first people to tweet about the exploit was @SolportTom, a contributor to the Solana ecosystem.
Massive exploit/drain going on with Solana seeing it live in Taiyo tons of people losing their whole balance out of no where.
Move everything to a ledger NOW.
Two wallets reported:
— Tom 《TYR》 (@SolportTom) August 2, 2022
“There wasn’t any mint that happened at the time of the drain. The transactions look like normal transfers, not transfers from a contract. This is eco-system wide, people speculating that it has to do with a gambling service,” said Tom.
Is Solana hack connected to Phantom wallet?
While several users immediately made the connection between the attack and Phantom wallet, the business instantly refuted these claims.
“We are working closely with other teams to get to the bottom of a reported vulnerability in the Solana ecosystem. At this time, the team does not believe this is a Phantom-specific issue,” said Phantom.
We are working closely with other teams to get to the bottom of a reported vulnerability in the Solana ecosystem. At this time, the team does not believe this is a Phantom-specific issue.
As soon as we gather more information, we will issue an update.
— Phantom (@phantom) August 3, 2022
Crypto dev and Twitter user @0xfoobar proposed a different explanation for the attack’s origins, tying it to a massive breach of private key security. Foobar believes that both the Phantom and Slope wallets are impacted, giving Phantom’s allegations some credence.
“The solution is to transfer assets into a wallet which has never exposed a private key to potentially vulnerable browser extensions. That means hardware wallets, nothing else.”
The precise reason for Tuesday’s attack, which appeared to primarily affect users of mobile wallets, remained unknown late into Tuesday night. A trusted third-party service may have been hacked in a so-called supply chain attack if the attacker managed to sign (i.e., start and approve) transactions on behalf of users.
Although this connection become less obvious as the attack progressed, several users first believed the Solana hack might be connected to transactions on Magic Eden’s Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace.
???There seems to be a widespread SOL exploit at play that's draining wallets throughout the ecosystem
Here's what you can do right now to best protect yourself
1. Go to >Settings on your @phantom wallet
2. >Trusted Apps
3. >Revoke Permissions for any suspicious links?
— Magic Ethen ? (@MagicEden) August 3, 2022
How users will protect themselves from the Solana hack?
After the Solana hack, users of the network have been encouraged to deactivate access to everything and move all of their money to a hardware wallet in the absence of a definitive explanation for the assault. Sending all coins to a central custodial exchange is a suitable interim fix for users without a hardware wallet. After the hack don’t forget to check the upcoming Solana NFT drops.
Solana price
At the time of writing, Solana is priced at $38.29 according to TradingView.
