The Fantom Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing the Fantom network, has recently fallen victim to a hacking incident, resulting in a substantial loss of approximately $6.7 million worth of digital assets. The incident occurred on October 17 and was discovered by on-chain investigator Spreek.
The attack was confirmed based on information obtained from a Telegram report, although it’s important to note that this information was labeled as an alleged hacking scenario. The hacked wallets have been identified, and initial estimates suggest losses of around $6.7 million. However, it is possible that the stolen funds include assets not directly linked to the Fantom Foundation.
Estimates and Identification of Attacker’s Wallets
According to initial estimations by blockchain security firm Certik, the attackers managed to siphon off nearly $657,000 worth of crypto assets from the Fantom Foundation. However, this figure was later updated to approximately $7 million. It was revealed that the attacker executed transactions from the Fantom Foundation’s wallets on both the Ethereum and Fantom networks.
Certik identified at least two wallets, Wallet 20 and 18, that were involved in the attack. The net loss in FTM (Fantom native token) amounted to around $470,000, and approximately $187,000 in ETH was affected. Certik acknowledged Spreek for providing crucial information about the attack.
Further investigation of blockchain data revealed that Fantom Foundation Wallet 20 on the Fantom network sent over 1 million FTM tokens to an address labeled “Fake_Phishing32.” Additionally, Wallets 1, 16, 18, and 19 belonging to the Fantom Foundation were also impacted by the hack. Some non-tagged wallets associated with team members were drained of funds, with one particular wallet losing over $3.4 million.
Confirmation and Reassurance from the Fantom Foundation
Later on, the Fantom Foundation confirmed the occurrence of the attack and disclosed that both the organization and its employees collectively lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crypto. Only a small number of Fantom wallets were compromised, including approximately $550K in Fantom Foundation funds. However, the foundation assured users that the vast majority of their funds, exceeding 99%, remained untouched and secure. The organization noted that some of the affected addresses labeled as “Foundation Wallets” were no longer under their use and had been reassigned to a Fantom employee, suggesting that the attack was a targeted personal attack.
The Fantom Foundation further stated that it is taking all necessary steps to prevent future attacks and ensure the safety of its users’ funds. While the exact mechanism behind the attack is still under investigation, early reports suggest that it may have resulted from a zero-day exploit via Google Chrome.
