Ethereum Foundation Email Hack Targets Staking Enthusiasts

As an analyst with a background in cybersecurity and experience dealing with similar incidents, I find this latest phishing attack on the Ethereum Foundation (EF) concerning. The fact that hackers were able to compromise the organization’s official email account and use it to send out scam messages to thousands of subscribers is a clear indication of the sophistication of today’s cybercriminals.


The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has warned its email list about a recent phishing attempt, during which fraudsters exploited the organization’s email account and disseminated false information regarding a supposed Lido staking program.

The Scam Email

On June 23rd, the “updates@blog.ethereum.org” email account was hacked and used to distribute fraudulent emails to over 35,794 recipients. In these emails, it was falsely claimed that Ethereum Foundation (EF) had formed a collaboration with Lido Decentralized Autonomous Organization (LidoDAO). The supposed alliance aimed to launch a staking program, promising impressive returns of up to 6.8% on deposited crypto assets (stETH, WETH, or ETH).

The email proposed a collaboration that promised “significant depth in liquidity and attractive returns” for me, along with enhanced security. It emphasized that the Ethereum Foundation had “verified and safeguarded” the staking service involved.

As a crypto investor, receiving an email with a “Begin Staking” button felt like stepping into uncharted territory. The button promised new opportunities for earning rewards through staking, but I couldn’t help feeling a pang of uncertainty as I considered clicking it. The allure of potential gains was strong, but the unknown risks weighed heavily on my mind. Nonetheless, with a deep breath and a determined glance at the button, I decided to take the plunge and explore this new facet of crypto investing.

Ethereum Foundation Says Email Hack Damage Was ‘Minimal’

The criminals meticulously designed a deceptive website named “Staking Launchpad” to carry out their fraudulent scheme. This site was intended to attract unwitting visitors who clicked on the staking button in an email. Once users clicked the link, they would be taken to the counterfeit site, which had been subtly rigged with a malicious drainer. At this point, a transaction approval request would appear in their crypto wallets. However, giving consent to this request would result in the thieves making off with all the funds from their accounts.

As a crypto investor, I’m relieved to hear that the Ethereum Foundation was able to regain control of their compromised email address before any significant financial damage occurred. Although investigations showed that the attackers failed to gain any tangible benefits from this attempt, it’s unfortunate that the breach exposed the email addresses of 81 individuals who were not initially on their mailing list.

To minimize risks, the Ethereum Foundation has reached out to prominent wallet services, blocking lists, and Cloudflare as their DNS provider, in a preemptive effort. Their objective is to alert users and impede any further misuse of fraudulent websites.

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2024-07-03 18:18