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Users of the Solana platform suffered an attack that emptied some 8,000 cryptocurrency wallets containing millions of dollars. Apparently, it was specific wallets, not the Solana blockchain or cryptocurrency, that were vulnerable to some sort of flaw.
The August 3, 2022 attack affected both the Solana cryptocurrency (SOL) and other tokens compatible with the Solana blockchain, such as the USD Coin Stablecoin (USDC). The exact value of the stolen assets has not yet been established, but reports from independent analysts and IS firms such as PeckShield claim that the loss is estimated at around $8,000,000.
Solana's official Twitter account claims that the attack devastated some 8,000 wallets. At the same time, the exact cause of the incident has not yet been determined.
Initially it was reported that the attack was not related to Solana's code, cryptocurrency and blockchain, but was linked to some kind of bug in the software used by several popular wallets. This version was indicated by the fact that transactions were signed by legitimate owners, meaning that the private key was likely compromised.
Several IS experts have speculated that hackers may have gained access to such a large number of private keys through a supply chain attack, some sort of 0-day vulnerability in a browser, or a malfunction in the random number generator used in the key generation process. Another possible explanation is a so-called nonce reuse attack.
However, according to a recent update on Solana's Twitter feed, the explanation is simpler: all affected addresses were somehow associated (created, imported, or used) with Slope's mobile wallet applications. Solana developers stress that the attack did not involve hardware wallets.
Although the investigation of the incident is still ongoing, the basic assumption is that private key information was mistakenly transmitted to the application monitoring service.
Slope developers have already confirmed the compromise, but have not yet provided any technical details about the incident, citing an ongoing investigation.
