On May 20, 2024, Gala Games was hit by a major attack, resulting in the unauthorized creation of a staggering 5 billion $GALA tokens, making it one of the most significant breaches in the history of blockchain gaming.
The attacker managed to mint tokens worth $200 million, highlighting the seriousness of the breach. However, Gala Games acted quickly, preventing further damage and reducing the real value of the tokens to US$21 million, putting the attacker's address on the list.
Behind the Breach: Insights into the Attack
Initial investigations suggest that the attacker gained access to a wallet with administrative privileges, allowing them to create a large number of $GALA tokens. Despite the enormous volume minted, flooding the market with such a supply would likely have significantly devalued the tokens.
Gala Games CEO Eric Schiermeyer promptly addressed the breach, assuring interested parties that the unauthorized access to the GALA contract was quickly neutralized within 45 minutes. He emphasized the security of Gala Games' ETH contract, untouched due to the protection of a multi-currency wallet.
Recovery attempts
Gala Games suspended the attacker's address within minutes, halting further token exchanges and limiting the financial fallout to approximately $21 million. Contrary to initial concerns, the attacker was only able to dump tokens worth this amount before being stopped.
Market consequences
The breach triggered a market frenzy, causing the GALA token price to plummet from $0.048 to $0.0388 in two hours, marking a significant decline of 20.8%. Subsequently, the value of the token reached a low of $0.039.
The mystery intensifies
Questions remain about the nature of the security incident, whether it originated from an internal threat or an external intrusion. The Gala Games community awaits further updates and official responses regarding the breach.
Schiermeyer revealed that the FBI, US Department of Justice and international authorities are investigating the Gala Games breach. Their joint efforts aim to recover stolen cryptocurrency, emphasizing the need for blockchain projects to increase security around administrative wallets.
