On January 8, the Discord server of Virtuals Protocol was hacked. Fraudulent links pretending to be the Virtuals Protocol website appeared on Google Search.
Details of the Discord Server Breach
According to the Virtuals team, one of the Discord group's moderators suffered from a private key breach, which compromised the server. The issue has been resolved.
Phishing Links on Google
Cybersecurity firm Scam Sniffer identified three malicious links impersonating the Virtuals Protocol website on Google. They advised users to verify links before clicking and warned against interacting with suspicious links. Threat actors continue to employ increasingly sophisticated phishing scams to steal funds from crypto users.
Top Security Threats in 2024
CertiK's year-end security report for 2024 cited phishing scams as the costliest threat, leading to over $1 billion in losses from 296 attacks. Private key compromises were the second costliest vector, with users losing $855 million. Losses from crypto hacks and scams increased by 21% from the previous year. In 2024, malicious actors targeted centralized services and private keys.
The Virtuals Protocol breach and the discovery of phishing links highlight the need for greater caution when dealing with cryptocurrencies and employing robust security measures. Recent reports indicate a significant rise in security threats, especially from phishing and key compromises.
