Vitalik Buterin Discloses Twitter SIM Swap Attack That Drained | Crypto Land

Vitalik Buterin Discloses Twitter SIM Swap Attack That Drained $691K From Users’ Wallets

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin revealed that his recent Twitter (X) account hack, that wiped over $691,000 victims’ funds in a fake NFT promo, was a result of a “SIM swap” attack.

Blockchain analyst ZachXBT, which confirmed $691,000 had been drained from people's wallets, declined to speculate whether Buterin was the victim of a “SIM swap.” The reply came as an X user, Satoshi 767, assumed that the hack could be a SIM Swap attack.

Essentially, SIM swapping occurs when a SIM scammer gains control of a phone number by assuming the victim’s identity and persuading their mobile service provider. Once they have control over this, they pass any SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) processes for accounts associated with that number, gaining complete control.

“I had seen the ‘phone numbers are insecure, don't authenticate with them’ advice before, but did not realize this.”