As the global crypto market continues to struggle against a sustained downtrend, hackers aren’t making things easier. In the latest high-profile attack, hackers targeted popular crypto-centric YouTube accounts on Sunday, January 23rd. Popular accounts such as Ivan on Tech, Altcoin Buzzz, Box Mining, MM Crypto, Crypto Banter and Floyd Mayweather were the target of a well-coordinated attack.
The attacks involved the takeover of the accounts and unauthorized streaming of videos. The videos misled viewers to deposit crypto funds into the hacker’s wallet. Viewers were asked to send Ether, USDT, BNB and USDC to the wallet address in exchange for a token called “OWCY”.
Thankfully, almost 24 hours since the hack, nobody has come forward claiming to have lost their assets to the scheme. Nonetheless, it points to the vulnerability of crypto assets as a whole, with their anonymity and decentralization providing cover for fraudsters.
Many unanswered questions
At the time of writing, nothing substantial had come out regarding the crypto hackers’ identity. However, questions remain regarding the manner in which they bypassed the security layers of the YouTube accounts.
Undoubtedly, many content creators and crypto enthusiasts will be waiting to hear from YouTube on the source/cause of the hack. Equally important, they will be hoping for direction from the company on appropriate mitigation measures against future attacks.
That the hackers could go past 2Factor authentication still remains a puzzle. Speculations have also risen, ranging from possible Sim swap fraud to claims of an “inside job”. Nonetheless, none of the affected account holders reported bugs in their accounts.
At the time of writing, no substantive response had come from YouTube. However, one account holder, Richard Heart, Tweeted that he encountered a barrier during a live stream. This gave rise to speculation that YouTube had probably flagged the issue and had taken action.