In a recent event that got too many crypto users, the Banana Gun Telegram bot got hacked. The hackers cleaned out the wallets, yanking $1.9 million worth of Ether from users’ accounts.
If you’re involved in crypto trading or use trading bots like Banana Gun, you’ll want to pay attention to what happened here.
What is Banana Gun?
Banana Gun is a well-known bot on Telegram that lets people trade on some of the largest blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, and Base. It is easy to use for crypto trading activities. No heavy tech or complex trading processes. Nevertheless, a giant security leak has endangered users and caused asset loss.
UPDATE ON BOT SITUATION
Today, some users of Banana Gun experienced unauthorized transfers from their wallets. Promptly after the first incident, we immediately switched off the bot and began diligently checking our back-end.
We have confirmed that our back-end is not…
— Banana Gun 🍌🔫 (@BananaGunBot) September 19, 2024
Cyvers, a blockchain security firm, reports that at least 11 attackers stole $1.9 million of digital assets from Banana Gun users. The firm’s Security Operations Center lead, Hakan Unal, shared this information, stating: “The wallets belonging to BananaGunBot got drained. As per our system, we have around 11 attackers (there can be more), and the amount they stole is around $1.9 million. As much as half the users felt the impact of this attack.”
A crypto researcher, Yannick Crypto, first highlighted the incident and shared the message on X (Twitter). He stated that the number of victims is 36 due to new investigation findings, and they may rise again.
Seems like there is already 36 victims with almost 563 #ETH stolen “so far” on mainnet. The last one was drained an hour ago, but there is more rumour that drains started on #SOL too.
I wouldnt say that @BananaGunBot itself got hacked, not enough victims. pic.twitter.com/0Ktz3TCcyu
— yannickcrypto.eth (@YannickCrypto) September 19, 2024
Is This Hack Over?
The information provided shows that this attack is not a smart contract issue. Unal said it wasn’t a complete breach of the Banana Gun bot but a transfer of small quantities of cryptocurrency from users’ wallets.
Out of over 10,000 users, fewer than 40 victims got hit. While the total amount stolen is nearly $2 million, this is only a fraction of Banana Gun’s $100 million assets under management (AUM). This suggests that the hackers targeted a select group of accounts rather than the entire system.
EVM AND SOLANA BOT ONLINE
Both our EVM and Solana bots are back online, with an additional safety measure of a 6-hour transfer delay now in place. We will also be monitoring activity 24/7.
Thank you all for your patience and trust. The team will refund all victims of the…
— Banana Gun 🍌🔫 (@BananaGunBot) September 20, 2024
Conclusion
The Banana Gun hack is one of the few risks one has to face in crypto. While Telegram bots may sound convenient, they are not without their problems; vulnerability is one of them. This loss should be a wake-up call for Crypto enthusiasts to be observant during any crypto activities.
You can ignore suspicious links and transfer your funds to more secure wallets. Stay safe and practice safety precautions in the crypto space.
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.
