Decentralized social networking platform Friend.tech has been the talk of the town since the start of the week due to the continued exploits of its users. Following a recent sim-swap exploit that was used to steal $385,000 worth of ETH from users, the platform unveiled a new login method.
How Does Friend.tech Work?
Friend.tech is a crypto-based social network launched on August 10th, 2023. Deployed on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Base, the project touts itself as “the marketplace for your friends.” Users fund their accounts by purchasing ETH through Web3 apps like MetaMask or via Ethereum mainnet.
Users can buy and sell keys to gain access to private in-app chats with their friends and other exclusive content. These keys, formerly called shares, are tied to users’ X (previously Twitter) accounts.
Users create an account on the protocol by first signing up with an “SMS number, Google account, or Apple ID.” After which, they can connect the newly created account with their X account. The project’s X account reveals that it is currently in beta.
Since its launch, the project has garnered over $1 million in network fees, surpassing several blockchain projects. It also generated over $45 million in total value locked (TVL), as shown on the blockchain analytics platform DeFiLlama.
Friend.tech – A New Playground for SIM-Swap Attacks
Following its explosive growth, hackers discovered a way to attack Friend.tech users. Using SIM-swap attacks, malicious actors can easily access users’ wallets and siphon their assets.
SIM-swap attack is a kind of exploit becoming increasingly infamous, where a bad actor tricks a mobile service provider into porting/connecting a victim’s phone number into a SIM card in their custody.
On-chain sleuth ZachXBT revealed via a tweet that “the same scammer [has] profited $385k (234 ETH)” from four different users through SIM-swap exploits within a 24-hour window. Notably, Friend.tech’s smart contracts are unaffected by malicious security breaches.
To curb the spread of these attacks, Friend.tech has introduced a new login method, allowing users to choose their preferred login method. Users can access the feature by tapping their wallet balances at the top right corner of the app interface.
