Vitalik Buterin Reveals SIM Swap Attack Used by Hackers To Gain Control of X Account
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Vitalik Buterin Reveals SIM Swap Attack Used by Hackers To Gain Control of X Account

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Created 8mo ago, last updated 8mo ago

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has revealed the details of a recent hack that resulted in the theft of $691,000 from his Twitter followers.

Vitalik Buterin Reveals SIM Swap Attack Used by Hackers To Gain Control of X Account

Vitalik Buterin Revealed Details Of The Recent Hack Of His X Account

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has revealed the details of a recent hack that resulted in the theft of $691,000 from his Twitter followers. Buterin revealed the information on the decentralized social network Farcaster, claiming that hackers used a SIM swap attack to acquire control of his T-mobile phone number and obtain access to his 4.9 million-follower Twitter account.

Because Twitter's account recovery process relies on phone numbers, even if they are not utilized for two-factor authentication (2FA), the attack was made easier. Buterin stated that a phone number is all that is required to reset a Twitter account password. He also noted that individuals can erase their phone numbers completely from their Twitter accounts.

Buterin speculated that his phone number was required to join X's Twitter Blue verification programme. He applauded Farcaster's improved security procedures, such as the use of Ethereum addresses for account recovery, which he believes is a more safe way.

The hack involved the posting of a fake NFT giveaway on September 9, enticing users to click on a malicious link. Victims collectively lost over $691,000 as a result. Concerns about the fake link were raised by the crypto community on Twitter, and the first acknowledgment of the hack came from Buterin's father, Dmitriy "Dima" Buterin.

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