On October 18, 2024, the Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer suffered a significant security breach when its official Twitter (X) account was compromised. This attack led to the posting of a fraudulent airdrop link, misleading users into engaging with a phishing site.
The scam appeared highly convincing, mimicking legitimate communications from EigenLayer and directing users to an imitation blog site, “blog.eigenfoundation.org,” instead of their official “blog.eigenlayer.xyz” page.
Users who connected their wallets fell victim to a sophisticated wallet-drainer scheme designed to steal their cryptocurrencies.
One of the more prominent victims reported losing 293 Mantle Staked Ethereum tokens (mETH) after interacting with the link, highlighting the severe financial impact such scams can have.
In response, Eigen Labs quickly issued warnings, urging the community to verify links and interactions to avoid further losses. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT also played a crucial role by disseminating alerts to the community, which helped limit additional damage.
The stolen funds were quickly moved and partially swapped on decentralized exchanges, while a substantial amount remained pending due to a two-week unstaking process. This provided a critical opportunity for mitigation. The victim, having reported the incident, sought support from Crystal.
Crystal’s involvement was pivotal in analyzing the situation.
We stepped in to assist, using our team’s expertise to track and flag compromised wallets. In this case, our investigative team identified wallets linked to the notorious Inferno drainer, which had previously targeted other victims.
Our analysis revealed significant ETH holdings in the drainer’s wallets and proposed strategies for involving law enforcement and advocating through legal channels. This collaborative approach showcased the importance of using blockchain intelligence and proactive investigation to curb losses and push for recovery.
The incident serves as a reminder for crypto users to maintain vigilance and underscores the vital role of specialized investigation teams in mitigating the aftermath of such breaches.
Read more about the EigenLayer hack on Cointelegraph