The sphere of cryptocurrencies has once again witnessed a shocking security breach. The decentralized finance platform, Balancer, attributes its recent website hijack to a ‘social engineering attack’ premeditated on its DNS service provider. This daring exploit resulted in an alarming financial loss of approximately $238,000 in cryptocurrency.
On scrutinizing the situation, the Balancer team discovered the ploy was focused on EuroDNS, a Luxembourg-based domain name registrar and DNS service provider, utilized for ‘.fi’ TLDs. The setback triggered an immediate response from Balancer’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Their rapid damage control efforts rectified the DNS attack and reinstated control on the Balancer user interface within eight hours of detection.
The end seemed triumphant when the Balancer announced its domain security restabilization and that its subdomains such as “app.balancer.fi” and other “balancer.fi” were secure for usage. However, those who ventured onto these domains were still greeted with a “Deceptive site ahead” warning, triggering apprehensions about safety assurances made.
According to reports from blockchain security firms SlowMist and CertiK, the advent of ‘Angel Drainer phishing contracts’ has been speculated. They observed a process called Border Gateway Protocol hijacking, where malicious entities seize control of IP addresses by falsifying internet routing tables. In this case, users were baited into approving and transferring funds via a “transferFrom” function to the exploiter.
To make things murkier, some of the stolen ETH was bridged to Bitcoin addresses via THORChain only to be bridged back to Ethereum. Adding to this intrigue, the hacker, believed by SlowMist to be connected to Russia, transferred about 15 wrapped-Ether (wETH.e) on the Avalanche blockchain.
This debacle raises significant questions on the security patterns of primary DNS providers and compels for a consideration to shift to more secure DNS registrars. It brings to the fore a gnawing uncertainty within the crypto world – Can parties be merely manipulated into major financial losses? If the Balancer exploit is any indication, the answer is an evident yes, sending tremors of concern across the crypto landscape while calling for critical introspection on security measures. In the final analysis, crypto space adventurers must brace themselves for the hazards of the open, virtual sea, not just the alluring lure of untapped treasures.
Source: Cointelegraph
