Galxe, a web3 credentials and rewards platform, has revealed plans to refund over $396,000 to more than 980 users who were affected by a significant DNS attack last week. As a gesture of goodwill, Galxe has also committed to adding an additional 10% to the lost funds, according to a document shared by the project.
Last week, Galxe fell victim to a security breach that targeted its DNS record. This allowed hackers to redirect visitors from the official website to a fraudulent phishing site. The team at Galxe acknowledged the impact on its users and is taking swift action to address the situation.
“We recognize the impact that recent events have had upon our users and are quickly working to take remedial action,” the team said at the time.
Users who experienced financial losses will be compensated in USDT on the Polygon network, based on the valuation as of October 9th, 3 a.m. PT. Furthermore, Galxe has pledged to add an additional 10% from the project treasury to the initial refund amount. It’s important to note that only users who authenticated transactions on the phishing site were affected, with other aspects of the Galxe platform remaining secure.
If users believe they were impacted but are not included in the list or notice discrepancies in their loss valuation, they can contact Galxe’s support team with relevant evidence for rectification.
Increase in Hacks and Scams
The cryptocurrency space has been plagued by a series of hacks and scams throughout the year, particularly in the third quarter of 2023. According to a report by blockchain security platform Immunefi, there were 76 hacks on crypto and web3 projects and firms in Q3 2023, a significant increase compared to the 30 hacks reported in the same period in 2022. These incidents have resulted in a total loss of approximately $332 million through various exploits, hacks, and scams in September alone, making it a record-breaking month for crypto exploits.
Notable Attacks
- A notable attack occurred on September 23, when the Mixin Network, a decentralized cross-chain transfer protocol based in Hong Kong, experienced a substantial breach that led to a loss of $200 million due to a breach of its cloud service provider.
- On September 12, CoinEx, a cryptocurrency exchange, encountered a suspected attack after a significant outflow from four of its hot wallets. This breach resulted in losses exceeding $53.1 million across the hot wallets.
- More recently, Stars Arena, a social platform supported by Avalanche’s Contract Chain, became a victim of a major security breach.
On the bright side, crypto exchange HTX, which faced a security breach in late September resulting in the loss of $8 million worth of crypto assets, has successfully recovered the stolen funds.
