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Mask Founder Confirms Hack, Loses $4 Million In Crypto

Barely hours after turning 29, Mask founder suffers a massive security breach, losing nearly $4 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

Published by

Aliyu Pokima

Published 27 Feb, 2025 | 05:47:06 PM UTC

Mask Founder Confirms Hack, Loses $4 Million In Crypto

Highlights

Mask founder confirms staggering crypto theft to the tune of $4 million
Early investigations reveal manual transactions originating from the founder's hacked mobile phone.
The attack comes on the heels of jarring hacks rocking the ecosystem over the last two weeks.

As the cryptoverse begins to pick itself up from jarring breaches, Mask founder Suji Yan is the latest victim of a calculated attack. Yan confirmed the loss of $4 million worth of assets with the stolen asset swapped to Ethereum (ETH) and moved to multiple addresses.

Mask Founder Loses $4 Million In Crypto On His Birthday

One week after the Bybit hack, Suji Yan, founder of Web 3 browser extension Mask has confirmed the loss of $4 million worth of cryptocurrencies in a security breach. The attack was targeted at a public wallet on the phone of the Mask founder with early analysis pointing to an offline attack.

In his confirmation, Yan says that the malicious transaction appears to be manual, taking place over 11 minutes. The mask founder is not ruling out the possibility of a private key leak, noting that the transactions happened during a bathroom break on his birthday.

“I was in a private gathering with a dozen friends and my phone was away for some minutes when I was using the restroom,” said Yan. “I trust my friends but this a nightmare for everyone.”

Attacker Moved Stolen Funds To Multiple Addresses

An early report by Web 3 security firm Cyvers disclosed that the Mask hack attacker moved several assets including ETH, USDT, WETH, and MASK to a single address. Upon receipt of the funds, the attacker converted the stolen funds to ETH and transferred them to six different addresses.

The embattled Mask founder has announced an investigation into the theft, tapping SlowMist and ZachXBT to lead the recovery. Yan is also cooperating with law enforcement agencies to resolve the issue, pledging to reserve comments till a formal report is available.

Unlike malicious code in Safe Wallet in Bybit’s hack, Yan says the attack is most likely an offline case involving a trust breach.

“I hope if this is the offline case – you should confront me directly,” said Yan. “Crypto is not a dark forest and I will not let it be.”

Amid the security breaches, a massive BTC price dip is dampening the enthusiasm of investors as they scan the horizon for a rally.

Aliyu Pokima

Aliyu Pokima is a seasoned cryptocurrency and emerging technologies journalist with a knack for covering needle-moving stories in the space. Aliyu delivers breaking news stories, regulatory updates, and insightful analysis with depth and precision. When he's not poring over charts or following leads, Aliyu enjoys playing the bass guitar, lifting weights and running marathons.

Published by

Aliyu Pokima

Published 27 Feb, 2025 | 05:47:06 PM

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