Playdapp Grapples With Dual Exploits With Token Losses Reaching $290 Million

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Hit with its second exploit in a week, the Blockchain gaming platform PlayDapp has suffered millions in losses followed by its first cybersecurity breach on 9th February losing $31 million worth of assets.  These bad actors’ doing have resulted in the theft of a cumulative $290 Million worth of PLA tokens, the native cryptocurrency powering PlayDapp’s gaming platform and NFT marketplace.

Playdapp Attacked for the second time in just 4 days; more into the hack

On Friday when the attacker gained access to the platform’s backend infrastructure, he allegedly added his address to the PlayDapp backend.

The hacker’s unauthorized wallet minted 200 million PLA tokens worth $36.5 million previously through a private key compromise. Again the hacker went on to mint an additional 1.59 billion PLA tokens valued at $253.9 million on February 12 and laundered them through exchanges.

The same hacker maintained access to the company’s systems. After stealing $36 million worth of assets in an initial wave, the hacker made off with another $254 million for the second time. This brings the total to a whopping $290 million. 

Experts believe the hacker gained access to one of the platform’s private keys, which they used to mint new funds into their wallet.

Response by the team

Swift in their response, the PlayDapp team paused the PLA smart contract and requested a transaction halt for a snapshot. Immediate communication with CEXs ensured prompt action to suspend deposits and withdrawals, mitigating potential losses, and hacker wallets were frozen on major CEXs. 

Team’s unsuccessful attempt in communicating with the attacker

The team contacted the hacker directly through an on-chain message and made an offer for a reward for the immediate return of all stolen contracts and assets. But all attempts were futile as there was no response from the bad actor.

The team also strictly warned him of the involvement of the FBI AND law enforcement agencies if he did not accept this offer. They have also made a statement publicly announcing a bounty and seeking assistance from  WEB3 security agencies.

Market Impact and Conclusion

Post the breach, the PLA token price reached $0.15 on February 13, a decrease of 2.9% over 24 hours.  The Playdapp team has been putting efforts into getting back the stolen tokens and even started communication with a hacker. The crypto community awaits hackers’ response and looks forward to the mitigation plan released by the team.