Ethereum Classic Github Taken Over
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The official Ethereum Classic GitHub repository was taken over by an unknown individual, causing concern for the security of the project. The incident involved someone gaining admin control over the Ethereum Classic community with Classic Geth and subsequently removing all other administrators. Although this posed a significant security risk, no damage to repositories had occurred at the time. Igor Artamonov, Founder and CTO of ETC Dev, advised users to avoid downloading Classic Geth until the issue was resolved. Ethereum Classic's blockchain itself remained unaffected, and an update confirmed that ownership was restored to previous administrators and the issue was resolved.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.[1][2][3]
About Ethereum Classic
"The official Ethereum Classic github has been taken over by some unknown person. This has been confirmed by Anthony, director of ETC Cooperative.
Here is what happened – someone took admin control of Ethereum Classic community with Classic Geth and has removed all other administrators.
This, as you can understand, is an important security issue, but so far the intruder has not done any damage to any repositories.
We are in contact with GitHub and working to regain control. The user who took ownership has not made any changes to any repositories as of the time of this tweet.
However, as the note indicates, please proceed with caution. https://t.co/ZrJdoyol0S
— Anthony Ȼlassic (@pyskell) November 30, 2018
Igor Artamonov, Founder and CTO of ETC Dev recommends users to not download Classic Geth until this issue is resolved.
Interestingly, Anthony does mention that Igor did give admin control to krykoder, another Github user, so it could be Krykoder who has deleted all other admins.
He adds that ETC Cooperative team is trying to establish the identity of this Github user without alerting krykoder. This is his tweet.
We were attempting to do this without alerting krykoder so that he wouldn’t up and delete the repository or engage in other nefarious action. We’ve tried to establish communication with Igor and coordinate regarding this but received little response.
We have backups of all repos
— Anthony Ȼlassic (@pyskell) November 30, 2018
Ethereum Classic blockchain is not affected by this since blockchain does not runs on the github (duh). It is the github that has been attacked. We are mentioning this since there are rumors brewing that ETC has been attacked.
The team has reassured that they have backups of all repositories.
Update – Anthony has tweeted that ownership of previous people has been restored and no damage was done. The new owners has given back admin rights to ex-admins.
Looks like all is fine. There was a misunderstanding in ownership of the organization. The issue will be fixed now that the user is aware. https://t.co/WsrFKxqddP
— Anthony Ȼlassic (@pyskell) November 30, 2018"
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
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The Reality
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What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| November 30th, 2018 | Github Taken Over | The Ethereum Classic Github account was taken over. |
Technical Details
This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?
Total Amount Lost
No funds were lost.
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Immediate Reactions
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Ultimate Outcome
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Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
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Ongoing Developments
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Individual Prevention Policies
No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.
Platform Prevention Policies
Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.
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Regulatory Prevention Policies
No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.
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