Yuga Labs’ co-founder slams Discord after BAYC suffered another exploit

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Yuga Labs’ co-founder Gordon Goner has criticized popular social media platform Discord for its inability to curb the rising number of Web3 exploits perpetrated through it network.

Goner berated the social media platform after Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and OtherSide’s non-fungible token was again exploited through a phishing attack executed as a result of a compromise from its Discord servers.

Our Discord servers were briefly exploited today. The team caught and addressed it quickly. About 200 ETH worth of NFTs appear to have been impacted. We are still investigating, but if you were impacted, email us at [email protected]

— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) June 4, 2022

Notably, Bored Ape’s Discord server was compromised again for the third in three months and the attacker stole around 200 ETH ($360,000) worth of NFTs. According to Yuga Labs, the hacker executed the phishing attack after its community manager, Boris Vagner, Discord’s account was hacked.

Notably, after taking control of Vagner’s Discord account, the hacker then used it to execute his attack by post phishing links. The link was posted in both the official BAYC and its related metaverse project, Otherside’s Discord channels.

As a result of the exploit, about 145 ETH ($260,000) reportedly looted along with the NFTs. However, Yuga Labs while confirming the exploit noted that the attacker carted away about 200 ETH worth of NFTs.

“Our Discord servers were briefly exploited today. The team caught and addressed it quickly. About 200 ETH worth of NFTs appear to have been impacted. We are still investigating, but if you were impacted.”

BAYC said.

Discord Isn’t Working For Web3 Communities —Yuga Labs’ co-founder

Yuga Labs’ co-founder lamented the unchecked rise in the number of phishing attacks perpetuated through Discord. He clamored for the establishment of a more secured platform, adding that “Discord isn’t working for web3 communities.”

Totally agree, who’s going to build it? 👀

— JoelContartese.eth (@JoelContartese) June 4, 2022

Similarly, Joel Contartese, Degen Toonz’s business director expressed his support for  Goner’s plans. He called for the establishment of a more secured Web3 platform, which would prioritize users’ security. However, another Twitter user called for the education of users instead of building a new platform. She said:

“You don’t change platforms to solve a social engineering problem. You educate your community until they are so savvy people know not to waste time trying to scam them.”

I think Greed on both sides played a part in that BAYC discord hack.

— niftyhyphy.eth (@niftyhyphy) June 4, 2022

Meanwhile, another crypto expert has blamed the users for compromising their wallets and falling victims to the scams. He argued that users’ greed especially makes them fall victim to scammers.

“You didn’t lose your NFT because you used Discord. You lost your NFT because you signed a malicious transaction with your key. Stop blaming Discord, another client won’t save you from repeating the same mistakes.”

Steve Fink said.

You know what could have prevented the BAYC discord hack? Create a token issuance protocol f/solving a hash cost function & then use that token to impose real-world, physically prohibitive costs on executing exploitable control actions…

— Jason Lowery (@JasonPLowery) June 5, 2022

It is worth noting that this is the third time hackers have exploited a Yuga Labs-run account and looted funds. Notably, BAYC has become a major target for hackers recently due to its high value in the NFT market.

Bored Ape Yacht Club, Otherside Price Plunges

Meanwhile, Bored Ape and Otherside floor price has dropped significantly following the exploit. The asset owners had earlier seen their holdings sniped at prices much lower than their market value due to an OpenSea UX bug earlier in the year.

Bored Ape floor prices have been in steady decline since the project’s 153 ETH peak of late April. According to data from OpenSea, the NFT fell below $200,000 on Saturday as the NFT market continues to decline.

At the time of publication, Otherside was also down by more than 45%. The assets floor price fell to 2.8 ETH, with a 90 days average price of 8.5 ETH.