There has been an increased number of "fake" electrums out there, be careful.

[Chandu141]

Looks like the exploit over and all the funds stolen from three servers transferred to the explorer's main wallet which shows about 243.5 BTC  
https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1MkM9Q6xo5AHZkLv2sTGLYb3zVreE6wBkj

may be more incoming may appear.. but i am suspecting this is their bank address..  

[1713564504]

1713564504

[1713564504]

1713564504

[Coding Enthusiast]

Another reason for Full-Validation, 
Was only a matter of time before the the servers became a point of attack.

This has nothing to do with being an SPV client. It is about the implementation (software) having a flaw that was exploited and it can happen to any software whether it is a full node or an SPV one.
The weakness was in a "feature" in Electrum where the server you connect to can send you a well formatted message (containing a link like the posted screenshot for example).

It may not be completely similar but Bitcoin-Core's alert system comes to mind which was a point of weakness that could be exploited in a similar fashion. That is removed now.

[squatter]

Thanks so much for the warning, Coding Enthusiast.

Just to clarify, we're safe as long as we don't follow the link and download the software, correct? Is there any danger if you use a watching-only/offline signing setup?

[HCP]

Just to clarify, we're safe as long as we don't follow the link and download the software, correct? Is there any danger if you use a watching-only/offline signing setup?

That is correct.

The current client itself is "safe"... This is a social engineering exploit that was abusing a "feature" within the Electrum client to try and trick users into downloading a malicious version of the client. The attack requires that you to download and run the malicious software to steal your coins.

So, if you are currently using the client from https://electrum.org/#download and have not downloaded or installed the "fake" client that was being promoted in this attack, you will be OK.

[kano]

So ... since the hack is provided by github, can you blame Microsoft for it?

[kano]

...
It may not be completely similar but Bitcoin-Core's alert system comes to mind which was a point of weakness that could be exploited in a similar fashion. That is removed now.

I'm pretty sure no security expert would call them similar since core required a security key ...

[Heydude1]

So ... since the hack is provided by github, can you blame Microsoft for it?

The electrum-projects one was actually verified by github and had the green verified logo next to it. That is another factor that led to me downloading it.

I emailed them about that and got no response.

[HCP]

The electrum-projects one was actually verified by github and had the green verified logo next to it. That is another factor that led to me downloading it.

What is this "verified logo"?

I don't recall ever seeing any Github repo that has a "verified by github" logo attached to it? Even the official Electrum repo here doesn't seem to have any verified logo?

[Coding Enthusiast]

I emailed them about that and got no response.

It took them about half a day to respond but I've gotten the answer to my report and now the account and the page are both removed from GitHub.

The electrum-projects one was actually verified by github and had the green verified logo next to it. That is another factor that led to me downloading it.

What is this "verified logo"?

I don't recall ever seeing any Github repo that has a "verified by github" logo attached to it? Even the official Electrum repo here doesn't seem to have any verified logo?

"Verified" simply means that the commit in that repository was signed. It can be when you commit things through the webpage when signed in so they are signed with GitHub's key, or if you use git (for example I push commits from Visual Studio) you have to either signed them with a PGP key or they are not marked as verified.
This doesn't mean much though!
https://help.github.com/articles/managing-commit-signature-verification/
An example: https://i.imgur.com/lWER7ZL.jpg

[hatshepsut93]

What we can learn from this attack to avoid something similar in the future:

1. Read everything very-very carefully, especially things like links to websites, repositories, etc. Always verify the signatures of the developers.

2. Don't panic, don't immediately rush to follow some instructions. Instead, check the official website, official repository, this forum for more details regarding the issue.

3. If you are simply holding coins in cold storage (as opposed to running a business, for example), you'll be safe from majority of potential attacks. This means you have more time to wait for more details regarding the issue.

4. Be slightly suspicious of all patches and hotfixes, there's always some risk that developers or their accounts and private keys were compromised. Again, carefully study the issue before acting.

[Retina]

I lost 2 BTC ( 35k$ )  last year because of Electrum got hacked an i have downloaded fake wallet.
do not use Electrum people

I do not understand that if you're a little careful then how is it possible because things are so trustworthy, how can it be hacked without your negligence, you should use a good quality anti-virus & while installing something else .

[Rayser]

I lost 2 BTC ( 35k$ )  last year because of Electrum got hacked an i have downloaded fake wallet.
do not use Electrum people

I do not understand that if you're a little careful then how is it possible because things are so trustworthy, how can it be hacked without your negligence, you should use a good quality anti-virus & while installing something else .

Anti-virus won't help you.

Better if you install Linux and check the PGP signature of your Electrum download.

[asche]

Better if you install Linux and check the PGP signature of your Electrum download.

You don't need linux to do that. You can do it with windows just fine.

[Lucius]

I lost 2 BTC ( 35k$ )  last year because of Electrum got hacked an i have downloaded fake wallet.
do not use Electrum people

Electrum is not got hacked as you say, some people just take advantage of Google AdWords service and run advertising campaign with fake Electrum sites. You use Google search engine to find Electrum site and then click on first results you get, in most cases this was fake site. So you lost 2 BTC just because you did not pay attention from where you download wallet, even simple adblock in browser would stop you to see such site.

What we can learn from this attack to avoid something similar in the future...

Some people just never learn, and regardless of what is happening right now they will lose money again. However this scam is very ingeniously conducted by using original Electrum wallet, and for most less experienced users it turned out to be a perfect trap.

I have to admit that after this Electrum can no longer be considered as safe wallet, this cheap trick should have been foreseen and stoped long time ago. I just wonder how many more exploits are still in Electrum and will be used one day against users?

[hatshepsut93]

Some people just never learn, and regardless of what is happening right now they will lose money again. However this scam is very ingeniously conducted by using original Electrum wallet, and for most less experienced users it turned out to be a perfect trap.

This is why it's wrong to blame the victims. People here so often say "it's your own fault for downloading fake wallet", but it only means that Bitcoin's user experience is not yet ready for mass adoption. I can easily imagine my friends or relatives losing their coins to this attack or some of the previous attacks.

I have to admit that after this Electrum can no longer be considered as safe wallet, this cheap trick should have been foreseen and stoped long time ago. I just wonder how many more exploits are still in Electrum and will be used one day against users?

Perhaps other wallets have many vulnerabilities too, and Electrum gets attacked more frequently because it's very popular. But I'm going to stop using Electrum if the next vulnerability will be critical or if Core will get a decent GUI.

[vv181]

Some people just never learn, and regardless of what is happening right now they will lose money again. However this scam is very ingeniously conducted by using original Electrum wallet, and for most less experienced users it turned out to be a perfect trap.

This is why it's wrong to blame the victims. People here so often say "it's your own fault for downloading fake wallet", but it only means that Bitcoin's user experience is not yet ready for mass adoption. I can easily imagine my friends or relatives losing their coins to this attack or some of the previous attacks.

UX design is yet still the main problem in the cryptocurrencies scene, we can't blame the developer for it since its still a brand new revolutionary technologies that still improving on a major core system(LN, etc). But I believe the mainstream could help improve the cryptocurrencies ecosystem by improving the usability and accessibility for cryptocurrency software.

Beside the UX design, the user must realize too the state of the current problem, they need to educate themselves, and recheck for any critical information that could compromise their wallet.

[AdolfinWolf]

The electrum-projects one was actually verified by github and had the green verified logo next to it. That is another factor that led to me downloading it.

What is this "verified logo"?

I don't recall ever seeing any Github repo that has a "verified by github" logo attached to it? Even the official Electrum repo here doesn't seem to have any verified logo?

Hmm.

Maybe he is referring to the {VERIFIED} tag that is next to some accounts of prominent companies such as AirBNB et al..? -- https://github.com/airbnb


You're right though, even https://github.com/spesmilo doesn't have that..   I really doubt that a random repo would get that.

[daianapotter]

Some people just never learn, and regardless of what is happening right now they will lose money again. However this scam is very ingeniously conducted by using original Electrum wallet, and for most less experienced users it turned out to be a perfect trap.

This is why it's wrong to blame the victims. People here so often say "it's your own fault for downloading fake wallet", but it only means that Bitcoin's user experience is not yet ready for mass adoption. I can easily imagine my friends or relatives losing their coins to this attack or some of the previous attacks.

I have to admit that after this Electrum can no longer be considered as safe wallet, this cheap trick should have been foreseen and stoped long time ago. I just wonder how many more exploits are still in Electrum and will be used one day against users?

Perhaps other wallets have many vulnerabilities too, and Electrum gets attacked more frequently because it's very popular. But I'm going to stop using Electrum if the next vulnerability will be critical or if Core will get a decent GUI.

If people that know a little of bitcoin got his/her coins gone.... imagine how will be with "normal"people. Bitcoin and cripto had a long way to go.

[AdolfinWolf]

Hi to all, I've shared fishing warning with Russian-speaking community  but a have a question whether the hardware based clients ( like Ledger nano s) are vulnerable to such kind of attack? Basically they're  light clients and rely on 3-rd parties servers.  

I believe (someone should correct me if i'm wrong, since i am far from an expert on hardware wallets.) all transactions made on a Ledger Nano S are done through their own servers, which are owned by no one but the corporation behind Ledger Nano S, so chances that this will happen on their devices/chrome app seems rather slim.

(They'd have to be the ones sabotaging their own servers, which wouldn't make any sense..?)

[asche]

Hi to all, I've shared fishing warning with Russian-speaking community  but a have a question whether the hardware based clients ( like Ledger nano s) are vulnerable to such kind of attack? Basically they're  light clients and rely on 3-rd parties servers.  

I believe (someone should correct me if i'm wrong, since i am far from an expert on hardware wallets.) all transactions made on a Ledger Nano S are done through their own servers, which are owned by no one but the corporation behind Ledger Nano S, so chances that this will happen on their devices/chrome app seems rather slim.

(They'd have to be the ones sabotaging their own servers, which wouldn't make any sense..?)

Every infected computer is vulnerable.
When using a HW wallet on an infected computer, the malware could modify the inputs you send to the HW wallet.
If you verify every detail on the HW wallet itself you should be safe.

However if you don't, you will be vulnerable to this kind of attack.