The official Chinese account of the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap on X (formerly Twitter) has fallen victim to a large-scale hack. The attackers used access to the profile to spread a fake meme coin, Mr. Pancake, warning users about the dangers of interacting with suspicious links.
This is reported by Business • Media
PancakeSwap’s Response and Security Recommendations
“Our Chinese account PancakeSwapzh has been hacked. Please do not click on any links or interact with posts. Our team is investigating to resolve the issue. Updates will only be published through this official PancakeSwap account,” the project team stated.
Following the incident, PancakeSwap representatives reported that they are actively collaborating with X’s administration to regain control of the PancakeSwapzh account. The team urged users to remain vigilant and emphasized that all official information will be published exclusively through the exchange’s main account.
Despite the hacking attack, the price of the CAKE token remained relatively unchanged. According to CoinGecko, over the course of a day, the asset rose by 9.6% and peaked at $4.55, before retreating to $4.39.
Experts on the Causes of Attacks and Security Measures
Shan Zhang, the Chief Information Security Officer at Slowmist, believes that the primary reason for frequent attacks on social media accounts is the lack of user awareness and the spread of phishing schemes. He underscores the importance of using two-factor authentication, complex unique passwords, and enhancing cyber education to minimize the risks of account compromise.
Alex Katz, the head of Kerberus, added that hackers often target both ordinary users and employees managing corporate profiles, as well as developers in the Web3 space. He called on companies to strictly implement security protocols to protect digital assets and reputation.
The incident with PancakeSwap once again proved that major crypto projects remain vulnerable to attacks on social media. Similar cases have occurred before, including with the Chinese BNB Chain account on X, which attackers used to spread phishing links via Wallet Connect, resulting in $13,000 before regaining control of the profile. Similar attacks have targeted the accounts of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and the Nasdaq exchange, leading to the launch of fraudulent airdrops and fake tokens with drastic changes in their capitalization.