Prominent crypto wallet MetaMask is addressing recent reports of Ethereum (ETH) wallets being hacked for millions of dollars, saying that the attacks are not related to weaknesses in the company’s software.
Earlier this week, Taylor Monahan, CEO of Ethereum-focused wallet MyCrypto, said in a lengthy thread that she had uncovered a “massive wallet draining operation,” which saw 5,000 ETH siphoned across 11 different chains since December 2022.
According to Monahan, the hacks are targeting large wallets belonging to “OG” Ethereum holders who likely practice high levels of security.
“For the past 48 hours, I’ve been unwinding a massive wallet draining operation. I don’t know how big it is, but since Dec 2022, it’s drained 5000+ ETH and ??? in tokens/NFTs (non-fungible tokens)/coins across 11+ chains…
This is NOT a low-brow phishing site or a random scammer. It has NOT rekt a single noob. It ONLY rekts OGs…
[As far as I know], no one has determined the source of their compromise. Multiple devices have been forensic’d. Nothing.”
In a recent announcement, MetaMask says that the exploits are not specific to MetaMask, and that its security specialists are in the midst of investigating possible causes behind the attacks.
“Recent reporting on [Monahan’s] thread has incorrectly claimed that a massive wallet draining operation is a result of a MetaMask exploit. This is incorrect. This is not a MetaMask-specific exploit…
Our security team is working with others across the web3 wallet space to research the source of this exploit.
As always, remember to store your Secret Recovery Phrase safely offline and store larger amounts of crypto in a hardware wallet.”
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