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Phantom wallet steps up protection after 18k attacks

Phantom wallet steps up protection after 18K attacks

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TL;DR

  • Solana wallet says that its paramount concern is safeguarding its users from malicious activity.
  • The wallet has tracked 85 million transactions, successfully blocking 18,000 malicious attempts from draining users’ wallets.

After the recent NFT hack that affected tech entrepreneur Kevin Rose, people on Crypto Twitter discussed the security benefits of self-custody wallets. On Wednesday, Rose, the mastermind behind Proof and Moonbirds NFTs, suffered a phishing attack after an imposter sent him a message utilizing permissions he had previously granted to his MetaMask wallet on the OpenSea marketplace. When that message was approved, the scammer exploited those privileges to steal over 40 NFTs from his wallet—including one Autoglyphs token valued at nearly half-a-million dollars.

After Rose experienced a cyber-attack, another Twitter user highlighted that the renowned Solana cryptocurrency Phantom had earlier cautioned of such malicious websites and blocked the particular website inattentively used by Rose. The wallet developers confidently voiced their support and assurance with “we got your back.”

Just like metamask’s easy-to-use browser or mobile app, Phantom also has its version, which allows users to purchase, buy or send any collections of NFTs conveniently.

We have always done certain forms of blocking—initially manually through an open source blocklist, and then getting more automated and sophisticated over time. You need to keep up with scammers, who are coming up with new strategies all the time, to be effective.

Francesco Agosti, Phantom co-founder, and CTO.

On Wednesday, Phantom released a blog post to inform its users about phishing and scam attempts. The wallet has tracked 85 million transactions, successfully blocking 18,000 malicious attempts from draining users’ wallets.

According to Agosti, Phantom utilizes manual and automated techniques to maintain its website blocklist; the company is even proactive enough to stop any suspicious activity. However, Rose ran into an issue yesterday when he was trying to sign a message instead of processing a transaction—something that Phantom doesn’t currently scan but will be introducing in its next release.

He also said that users wouldn’t need to make any changes; this security feature is already enabled by default. You may not be aware of it when using secure dApps, yet it will become active if you ever visit a possibly malicious website or attempt to submit a pending transaction.

Wednesday saw a notable example of phishing, with hackers hijacking the Twitter account for the Robinhood exchange. This type of scam is typically conducted via email, social media, or text messages. It will often require some kind of response from users: clicking on an embedded link that takes them to a malicious website is one such possibility. The risk is present no matter what device we use; fortunately, devices like Phantom wallet come pre-prepared for this eventuality.

Phishing is a consistent issue in the digital space and steadily increases as more users join. However, when it comes to scams, this fluctuates; there’s typically a period of stability followed by an increase due to scammers discovering new strategies that work well.

Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decision.

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Damilola Lawrence

Damilola is a crypto enthusiast, content writer, and journalist. When he is not writing, he spends most of his time reading and keeping tabs on exciting projects in the blockchain space. He also studies the ramifications of Web3 and blockchain development to have a stake in the future economy.

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