Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoreNews is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoreNews on whether to sell, buy or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk.
CryptoreNews covers fintech, blockchain and Bitcoin bringing you the latest crypto news and analyses on the future of money.
Stars Arena obtains financing to address $3M breach, plans to reopen following security review.
The Avalanche-based Web3 social media application Stars Arena has announced that it has obtained funding to address the $3 million deficit resulting from an exploit on October 6. The team also stated that the smart contract will be reopened following a comprehensive security audit.
In a statement on X, the Stars Arena team remarked: “We have secured the resources to bridge the gap created by the exploit. Furthermore, a specialized white hat development team is set to conduct a swift review of the platform’s security.”
Important news: we have secured the resources to close the gap caused by the exploit.
Additionally, a special white hat development team is coming in to rapidly review the security of the platform.
We will re-open the contract with all the funds in full after a full security…— Stars Arena (@starsarenacom) October 7, 2023
Stars Arena first confirmed the hack on October 6 and advised users against depositing any funds while it investigated the security incident.
Blockchain security firms like SlowMist tracked the hacker’s activities and reported that they drained 266,103 Avalanche (AVAX)—valued at nearly $3 million at that time—from Stars Arena, subsequently transferring the funds to the Fixed Float crypto exchange.
SlowMist Security Alert@starsarenacom appears to have been stolen due to a major security breach in its smart contract, please do not deposit funds.
Currently, the hacker transferred 266,103 $AVAX to the address (0xa2Eb…ad7A). The address (0xa2Eb…ad7A) transferred… https://t.co/BtkRCTk8CK pic.twitter.com/o0YrX8ZOCK— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) October 7, 2023
Shortly after the hack, the Stars Arena team expressed regret over the exploit and disclosed that its website was experiencing a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack.
Related Posts
“We are deeply sorry for what occurred. Our smart contract was exploited and the funds were drained. The site is currently under DDoS attack. We are working on a solution to recover everyone’s funds and ensure the Arena can progress. We are working on a solution to recover everyone’s funds and ensure the Arena can progress,” the team stated.
Looking ahead, the team emphasized in an October 7 X Spaces that it will require time to guarantee that security is “watertight” before the smart contract is relaunched.
At this point, it remains unclear when the project will reopen, but the team indicates that it will occur “very soon.”
This incident marks the second exploit on Stars Arena within the past week.
On October 5, Cointelegraph reported that Stars Arena had addressed a vulnerability after a hacker drained $2,000 worth of AVAX from the platform.
Related: Galxe protocol experiences DNS attack, losses top $150K and still growing
After receiving criticism from members of Crypto Twitter regarding the platform’s security, the Stars Arena team addressed “coordinated fud” and pledged to continue their efforts.
Stars Arena is part of an expanding list of social finance platforms that have emerged since Friend.tech entered the market in August.
Magazine: Blockchain detectives — Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis
