Description

Trust Wallet has asked users to update its Google Chrome browser extension after a critical security flaw led to the theft of about $7 million in cryptocurrencies. The security flaw occurred in Google Chrome browser extension version 2.68, which had a total of one million users. However, The Trust Wallet has since fixed the problem with software update version 2.69. The company has also revealed that mobile only users and browser extensions are safe from such theft. Users have also been asked to only check messages from authorized sources. The blockchain security firm SlowMist identified that malicious code was embedded in the compromised version of the extension by hackers. The malicious code was developed to search for every wallet that was held inside an extension and activate access to their mnemonic phrases once they had entered passwords for their wallets. The passwords of the wallets were utilized to decode their decrypted mnemonic phrases and send them to an attacker-controlled server, api.metrics-trustwallet[.]com. Further, it was identified that attackers utilized an open-source analytics library, posthog-js, as an invisible channel. The stolen funds consist of around 3 million units of Bitcoin, over 3 million units of Ethereum, and smaller amounts of Solana. According to block chain analysts, around 2.8 million units are still within the attacker’s possession, but over 4 million units have been laundered,the report reads. Hundreds of users have been affected by the hack. SlowMist clarified that it was an attack by direct tampering within Trust Wallet’s internal extension code and that it was not an attack via compromised dependencies. The company suspected that it might be an attack by a state-sponsored hacker due to possible access to their development devices or deployment privileges. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao suspected that it was an insider attack, although there was no proof of it yet.