The Fantom Foundation, a nonprofit organization developing the Fantom blockchain platform, recently experienced a significant vulnerability in its system. This vulnerability was discovered following a $550,000 hack in October. The foundation was targeted, with an unknown attacker draining 1% of its funds. However, the foundation quickly identified and mitigated the vulnerability, preventing potential losses of up to $170 million.
On October 17, the Fantom Foundation fell victim to a hot wallet hack, resulting in the loss of $550,000. As a response to this attack, the foundation ceased using the affected wallets and reassigned them to a Fantom employee. This action turned the incident into a “targeted attack” rather than a widespread security breach.
Following the initial hack, an unnamed security researcher identified an additional potential risk associated with the attack. This researcher alerted the Fantom Foundation about a dormant admin token for Fantom’s ERC-20 FTM contract. This vulnerability meant that the attacker could potentially mint a portion of Fantom tokens for themselves on Ethereum. If exploited, this vulnerability could have resulted in losses of $170 million, based on token prices at the time of the hack.
Once aware of the vulnerability, the Fantom Foundation acted quickly to mitigate the risk. They promptly addressed the issue, preventing any potential loss of funds. In recognition of the researcher’s contribution, the foundation awarded the unnamed individual $1.7 million.
The Fantom Foundation emphasized its commitment to maintaining the highest security standards for its platform. They expressed gratitude to security researchers who assist in improving their security measures.
Despite the recent hack and loss of funds, the Fantom token has seen significant growth in value. Over the past four weeks since the hack, the token has increased by 82%. At the time of writing, the token is trading at $0.31. Additionally, the token has experienced a 78% increase in value over the past year.
Launched in late 2019, the Fantom network is a blockchain protocol that allows users to build and deploy decentralized applications (DApps). Fantom’s Opera, a permissionless blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, enables users to interact with the Fantom network using popular tools like MetaMask.
Unfortunately, this recent hack is not the first that the Fantom Foundation has experienced. In July 2023, the foundation suffered a substantial multichain bridge hack, resulting in the loss of $126 million worth of cryptocurrency. Fantom creator Andre Cronje claimed that the Fantom team had been misled about the actual security level of Multichain, a project that discontinued operations shortly after the hack.
The Fantom Foundation faced a major vulnerability following a $550,000 hack. Thanks to the efforts of a security researcher, the foundation quickly identified and mitigated the risk, preventing significant potential losses. Despite these challenges, the Fantom token has shown remarkable growth and remains a promising blockchain protocol for decentralized applications. The foundation continues its commitment to maintaining the highest security standards and appreciates the contributions of security researchers in this ongoing effort.
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