THOUSANDS of Solana wallets have been “drained” by an unknown attacker.
The popular crypto system is used by millions of people around the world.
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Solana is a blockchain like Ethereum and Bitcoin, but with a few key differences.
It’s mostly popular for its fast transactions and low “gas costs” – or fees.
But Solana users are now panicking after the company admitted it had suffered a major attack.
“Engineers from multiple ecosystems, with the help of several security firms, are investigating drained wallets on Solana,” said Solana in a statement.
“There is no evidence hardware wallets are impacted.”
The attack is specifically focused on internet-connected wallets on iOS and Android.
If you’re using a hardware wallet then Solana says you will be unaffected.
It’s currently unclear how much money has been stolen – but Solana says the number of victims tallies into the thousands.
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“An exploit allowed a malicious actor to drain funds from a number of wallets on Solana,” Solana explained.
“As of 5am UTC approximately 7,767 wallets have been affected.
“The exploit has affected several wallets, including Slope and Phantom.
“This appears to have affected both mobile and extension.”
It’s currently understood that hackers may have exploited holes in apps or extension connected to the Solana network.
This reportedly affects Solana-friendly wallets like Phantom, Slope, Solflare and TrustWallet.
Multiple cryptocurrencies may have been stolen, including the official Solana coin as well as any coins compatible with the Solana blockchain.
‘Millions lost’
Security experts have already been estimated the loss of crypto.
Analyst Miles Detuscher tweeted that as much as $6million may have been stolen.
“If you have funds on Phantom, make sure to revoke all permissions and move to a hardware wallet,” Miles warned.
Twitter account @PeckShieldAlert said the loss is estimated to be as high as $8million.
Phantom is the most popular crypto wallet for the Solana blockchain.
In a statement, Phantom said: “We are working closely with other teams to get to the bottom of a reported vulnerability in the Solana ecosystem.
“At this time, the team does not believe this is a Phantom-specific issue.
“As soon as we gather more information, we will issue an update.”
The Sun has asked Solana for updates and will edit this story with any response.
Solana is asking affected users to complete their survey as part of the investigation here.
Several users have been speaking out about the attack on Twitter.
One wrote: “Damn, my bag got drained.”
Another said: “What about my stolen money? Is the team working for it?”
And one frustrated user asked: “Is there no compensation for those who have been pulled out?”
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
