Someone doxxed Raj Gokal, the Solana Co-Founder, on May 26. A hacker organized access to Migos’ Instagram account which has 13 million followers, to post his personal info. They put sensitive documents out there such as his driver’s license and passport. The criminals asked for a payment of 40 Bitcoin.
Key-Takeaways:
- The Instagram account for Migos was taken over and Raj Gokal’s private information was exposed alongside calls for 40 BTC. Hackers used tricks to get access to his accounts.
- The attack points to higher risks for leaders in the crypto sector and could be linked to the recent Coinbase breach which uncovered problems with exchanges.
Co-Founder of Solana Targeted by a Coordinated Social Engineering Attack
The person who attacked the Solana Co-Founder made use of advanced social engineering methods through many platforms. Hackers attempted to infiltrate his email, social media and cloud accounts over the past week.
Solana’s Co-Founder had spoken about these threats to followers nearly a week earlier on May 20. He said the accounts he used on Apple, Google and social media were being attacked by the suspects.
The Migos account posted seven messages following the hack. Everyone went after the Solana Co-Founder by sharing his personal information.
According to leaked files, the Solana Co-Founder took photos of himself with ID documents. The verification process looked similar to the standard images you see on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Another batch of posts published what hackers claimed were his contact details. Followers were told to try sharing the posts as much as possible.
Extortion and Blackmail
The attackers pressured Solana Co-Founder to give them 40 Bitcoin. This usual hints that the next step will be extortion.
Some messages said, “You really should’ve paid the 40 BTC” or “40 btc was all it took… you should’ve paid.” These hint that the negotiation for a ransom was unsuccessful.
It shows that cybercriminals are drawn to well-known people in the crypto world to get their money.
Blockchain researcher ZachXBT reviewed the attack. He found that social engineering was used to gain access to the Solana Co-Founder’s personal details.
The researcher revealed that attackers used the stolen data to try and extort the Co-Founder. If people wouldn’t pay, the Migos made their harassment public on the Migos account.
Beyond the attack on the Solana Co-Founder, family members were also targeted, with posts claiming to show his wife with identification documents. This degree of threats reveals that the Solana Co-Founder’s security is personal and that the wider cryptocurrency community can be exposed to carefully designed harassment campaigns.
Coinbase Bug and the Data Breach
People wonder if the Solana Co-Founder’s attack is related to a recent hack on Coinbase. On May 15, Coinbase made clear there was unauthorized access to customer personal data and copies of IDs.
The materials leaked about the Solana Co-Founder seem to be based on the same compromised KYC documents found in the previous breach.
Images circulating online of Solana Co-Founder with identification documents look much like the normal verification requested by cryptocurrency exchanges. The similarity makes people wonder if the Solana Co-Founder’s data came from the Coinbase breach or a similar event on another leading cryptocurrency site.
Even though the Solana Co-Founder’s attack wasn’t caused by the Coinbase breach, the similarities underline weaknesses in how centralized exchanges operate. This incident proves that stealers rely on exchange data, allowing them to selectively attack big investors like the Co-Founder of Solana.
The incident involving the Solana Co-Founder points to broader security dangers for leaders in the crypto industry. The compromise of ZKsync and Matter Labs X on May 13 is an example of how blockchain executives are still being focused on by attackers.
The attacks show that the main aim is to benefit financially from famous crypto names and harm their reputations.
Conclusion
Hacking into Migos’ Instagram and targeting Solana Co-Founder Raj Gokal indicates new threats to leaders in cryptocurrency and their families. The attackers depended on social engineering, extortion and doxxing. It covers the ways in which hackers are targeting top blockchain executives.
