To mitigate the effects of a recent cyber attack, Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, has taken the step of freezing the attacker’s address. This action was confirmed by Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino. The attacker’s address had accumulated approximately $483,000 in various assets, as reported by the wallet analytics platform, DeBank. This included $44,000 in USDT. It was also noted that the attacker’s wallet had transactions with the AngelDrainer phishing group, transferring 4.334 ETH to the group’s wallets.
Tether just froze the Ledger exploiter address
— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) December 14, 2023
The action taken by Tether to freeze the wallet implies that it is now incapable of transferring any USDT from the wallet to other addresses, although it retains the ability to conduct other transactions. Before this, researchers had disclosed that the Ledger ConnectKit library, a code repository utilized by the hardware wallet provider Ledger, had been compromised and injected with malicious code that drained the wallets of victims.
This led to the vulnerability of the front ends of various DeFi protocols. In response, Kyber and RevokeCash deactivated their front ends, and Matthew Lilley, the CTO of Sushi Swap, cautioned users against interacting with any dapps on Wednesday morning.
Collaboration Leads to Quick Resolution
The prompt resolution of the incident was credited to the joint efforts of several players in the cryptocurrency landscape. This includes the WalletConnect service, Tether, the blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, and ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator. Their collaboration was instrumental in swiftly addressing the situation.
This event emphasizes the escalating apprehensions about security in the realm of cryptocurrency, especially concerning the protection of assets that are stored or transacted via digital wallets. The swift action taken by Tether and Ledger, in conjunction with their partners, exemplifies the capacity of the crypto community to rapidly rally in the face of security threats.
Nonetheless, the incident also accentuates the necessity for increased alertness and enhanced security measures within the sector. It is recommended that users of digital wallets and participants in DeFi platforms stay abreast of the most recent security updates and adhere to best practices to ensure the safety of their assets.
