A sophisticated cyber attack recently took place on NFT Trader, a platform, for peer to peer trading. As a result of this attack NFTs almost $3 million were stolen. The platform confirmed the breach on X ( Twitter) stating that the hackers exploited smart contracts. The stolen assets included at 13 tokens from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club and 37 from the Bored Ape collection well as NFTs from VeeFriends and World of Women.
The situation became more complex due to rumors and misinformation circulating on social media platforms. One of the attackers openly admitted to exploiting the system to obtain tokens. Then discovered they could steal NFTs. Interestingly they claimed to be a ” person” and showed disinterest in the value of the stolen NFTs; however they demanded a 10% bounty in Ether (ETH) for returning them.
In a twist one of the victims reported that the hacker returned a NFT along with 31 ETH, which was valued at approximately $70,680 at that time. The victim expressed their astonishment on X regarding this act of repentance.
This security breach, at NFT Trader was part of a heist that also targeted Flooring Protocol. In total these combined thefts resulted in an estimated loss of $4.54 million worth of NFTs.
This incident has caused worries regarding the security of asset platforms. In a turn of events the hacker responsible, for the NFT Trader breach has returned a portion of the stolen items. Among them are a World of Women NFT and multiple pieces, from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club collection.