In a concerning security breach, a wallet associated with the U.S. government was reportedly hacked, resulting in the theft of approximately $20.7 million worth of digital assets.
The attack, which occurred about nine hours ago, targeted multiple stablecoins and Ethereum, leading to substantial financial losses.
The stolen funds include:
- 13.7 million aUSDC
- 5.44 million USDC
- 1.12 million USDT
- 178 ETH, valued at $447,000
Following the hack, the attacker swiftly converted $USDC, $USDT, and 503,945 aUSDC (totaling around $7.06 million) into 2,764 ETH, averaging an exchange rate of $2,555 per ETH. Subsequently, 195.4 ETH—equivalent to $493,000—was transferred to ten deposit addresses on Binance. The hacker now retains control over 13.17 million aUSDC and 2,747 ETH (approximately $6.93 million) across three wallets.
A US Government wallet appears to have been hacked for $20.7M 9 hours ago!
The stolen assets include:
• 13.7M $aUSDC
• 5.44M $USDC
• 1.12M $USDT
• 178 $ETH ($447K)So far, the hacker has swapped all $USDC, $USDT, and another 503,945 $aUSDC (total: $7.06M) for 2,764 $ETH at… pic.twitter.com/9ft8DfjgDb
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 25, 2024
In another related event, Cyver’s alert system flagged suspicious activity involving unverified lending contracts on Base. Hours prior, the attacker executed transactions on these contracts, yielding about $993,000. Many of these tokens were later exchanged and bridged to the Ethereum network, with around $202,000 directed to Tornado Cash, a known cryptocurrency mixing service. Exploiting the same vulnerability, the hacker managed to extract an additional $455,000 by manipulating Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) prices through excessive borrowing.
🚨ALERT🚨Our system detected multiple suspicious transactions involving unverified lending contracts on #Base a few hours ago.
The attacker initially made a suspicious transaction, gaining approximately $993K from these unverified contracts. Most of these tokens were swapped and… pic.twitter.com/FRo5gVhxCc
— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) October 25, 2024
The root of this vulnerability appears to be a price manipulation tactic involving WETH, highlighting the risks associated with unverified lending contracts and underscoring the need for enhanced security protocols in decentralized finance (DeFi). This incident serves as a reminder of the pressing need for robust safeguards as the DeFi space continues to grow.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any Metaverse crypto coins.