Solana 'hot' wallets are being hacked, draining crypto funds

The Solana ecosystem has been targeted by hackers, who have drained thousands of "hot" wallets linked to the internet of their crypto money. These assaults are typical among blockchain systems, but the fact that the news is still significant given Solana's reputation as one of the faster and cheaper platforms for trading digital assets.

It appears that hackers have been able to steal both Solana's own cryptocurrency (SOL) and other compatible cryptocurrencies like the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). The value of the assets stolen is unclear as the assault continues, but reports from independent analysts and security firms such as PeckShield indicate that the losses may reach $8 million.

Solana has a history of security breaches, including bot spam and reported DDoS assaults. Meanwhile, it is taking reservations for the Saga phone, which it promises to release next year, with support for decentralized apps built-in.

Around 8,000 (up from 7,767 previously) wallets appear to have been accessed by the incident, including those maintained by third parties Phantom and Slope, according to Solana's official Twitter feed. The firm did not offer an explanation for the attack but reported that there was no evidence hardware wallets (those not connected to the internet) had been affected.

On Twitter, Solana's co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko provided a little more detail, claiming that the hack appeared to be a supply chain attack against both iOS and Android apps (meaning that the attackers exploited a vulnerability in connected applications or browser extensions). The transactions are signed with users' private keys, demonstrating that the attackers have somehow obtained access to their seed phrase.