Cardano Foundation Twitter/X Account Compromised

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Cardano Foundation Logo/Homepage/Gathering

The Cardano Foundation, a Swiss-based non-profit, is dedicated to advancing the Cardano blockchain as a global public infrastructure, focusing on operational resilience, education, and adoption across various industries. In December 2024, the Foundation faced a security breach of its official X account, where false information regarding a lawsuit from the U.S. SEC, a token burn, and other fraudulent claims were posted. The Cardano Foundation quickly regained control of the account, clarified the situation, and assured the community that no other systems were affected. It is unclear if any funds were lost as a result.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]

About Cardano Foundation

The Cardano Foundation is a Swiss-based non-profit organization focused on advancing the Cardano blockchain as a global public infrastructure. Its mission includes improving operational resilience, fostering education about blockchain, and driving adoption across various industries. The Foundation works on scaling on-chain activities and supports Cardano's development through strategic collaborations, technical enablement, and industry engagement. Led by CEO Frederik Gregaard, the team works to promote decentralization, sustainability, and the broad use of blockchain technologies. With a focus on education and the legal certainty of blockchain, the Foundation envisions Cardano as a core business infrastructure for the future.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

  • When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
  • Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
  • How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
  • Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The Cardano Foundation's X account was compromised, and a number of tweets were posted which temporarily discounted the price.

Key Event Timeline - Cardano Foundation Twitter/X Account Compromised
Date Event Description
December 6th, 2024 3:19:00 AM MST Hiring Communications Manager The Cardano Foundation posts an announcement that they are hiring a new communications manager. "Join the CF and help shape our narrative in the blockchain space. If you're an experienced communications pro with a passion for tech and web3, apply now."
December 8th, 2024 5:00:00 AM MST Reported Start Of Incident The time frame where unauthorized posting started, according to the Cardano Foundation's following tweet.
December 8th, 2024 8:06:00 AM MST Allegations of SEC Lawsuit New claims are posted on the Cardano Foundation Twitter account, which falsely claim that the SEC has started a lawsuit against the Cardano Founation. The post is retweeted multiple times. User @SmaugPool and others in the community attempt to warn as many people as possible about the account hack, but some in the community remain confused.
December 8th, 2024 8:22:00 AM MST Cardano Posts Tweet The main Cardano @Cardano handle posts on Twitter/X to indicate that their foundation Twitter account @Cardano_CF has been compromised and users should ignore it.
December 8th, 2024 8:44:00 AM MST Charles Hoskinson Tweet Charles Hoskinson mentions an old video he posts about Twitter/X along with a potential alternative authentication method.
December 8th, 2024 6:45:00 PM MST Posts Reportedly Removed A tweet by @Trading_CSgroup appears to state that posts have been removed.
December 9th, 2024 12:32:00 AM MST Account Is Still Compromised "The @Cardano_CF account remains compromised. Beware: there’s no SEC lawsuit, no token burn, and no “ADASol” bridge. Also, CF team members will never DM you to ask for anything. Follow @Cardano for accurate updates. Big thanks to @support for their help."
December 10th, 2024 7:42:00 PM MST Still Scam Posts Online Twitter/X user @thr_x_ shares a post where users who "traded any token in the last 6 months" "might be eligible" for a reward. Users are directed to the domain allocation.cardanofoundation.io.
December 11th, 2024 4:16:00 AM MST Price Of Cardano Falling The price of cardano is down to $0.97, which is "below the crucial $1.20 support level by more than 16%".
December 12th, 2024 9:00:00 AM MST Reported End Of Incident The time frame where unauthorized posting was resolved, according to the Cardano Foundation's following tweet.
December 13th, 2024 1:53:00 AM MST Cardano Foundation Postmortem Following the unauthorized access to their official X account, the Cardano Foundation confirmed that control has been fully restored and normal posting has resumed. They thanked the Cardano community and their network for quickly alerting them to the issue. The Foundation clarified that the content posted during the unauthorized access from December 8 to December 12 did not reflect their views or endorsements. A thorough investigation is underway to identify the attacker(s) and prevent future incidents. The message was signed by one of the Foundation's Interim Constitutional Committee (iCC) hot keys, with verification available on their official website.

Technical Details

"Announcement from the Cardano Foundation

The Cardano Foundation regrets to inform our community that we have been served with a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 8, 2024.

In light of this unexpected legal action, we have made the difficult decision to immediately cease all support towards the $ADA token to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

We understand the impact this may have on our valued community members and stakeholders, and we assure you that we are committed to providing support during this transition.

We will be sharing further details regarding the next steps and how we plan to assist all holders of $ADA in the coming days.

Thank you for your understanding and support during this time."

"$ADA trading will halt on all platforms as of December 9th, 2024. All $ADA tokens will consequently be burned. Community members will be able to submit a refund request to account for any investment lost during the burn."

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

"The @Cardano_CF account remains compromised. Beware: there’s no SEC lawsuit, no token burn, and no “ADASol” bridge. Also, CF team members will never DM you to ask for anything. Follow @Cardano for accurate updates. Big thanks to @support for their help."

Ultimate Outcome

"Following the unauthorized access on our official X channel, the Cardano Foundation is pleased to confirm that we have now re-established control. Normal posting will now resume.

We greatly appreciate all of those who acted quickly to alert us of the issue. A special thanks goes to the Cardano community and our broader network of contacts and peers for their invaluable support.

The unauthorized content posted from this account between 8 December at 13:00 CET and 12 December at 17:00 CET was entirely unfounded and does not reflect the views or endorsements of the Cardano Foundation. We can confirm that no other Cardano Foundation systems were affected during this incident. A comprehensive investigation is underway to identify the attacker(s), determine the root cause, and implement measures to prevent future occurrences."

"The Cardano Foundation can confirm that we have re-established control of the X account. Normal posting has now been resumed."

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

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.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.

References

  1. ↑ @Cardano Twitter (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  2. ↑ @harpieio Twitter (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  3. ↑ Cardano Foundation - Web 3.0 and Blockchain Solutions (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  4. ↑ About us | Cardano Foundation (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  5. ↑ @Cardano_CF Twitter (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  6. ↑ @Cardano_CF Twitter (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  7. ↑ @Cardano_CF Twitter (Accessed Jan 22, 2025)
  8. ↑ Wayback Machine (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  9. ↑ @Vet_X0 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  10. ↑ @ADA_stake_pool Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  11. ↑ @Josi_sndnc Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  12. ↑ @MinswapIntern Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  13. ↑ @thr_x_ Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  14. ↑ @forbiddenADA Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  15. ↑ @Altcoinbuzzio Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  16. ↑ @DanielaHubBr Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  17. ↑ @ENCOINS1 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  18. ↑ @CardanoRami Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  19. ↑ @Morne_Stakepool Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  20. ↑ @clarkalesna Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  21. ↑ @EyeOfTheKing1 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  22. ↑ @CardanoHandles Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  23. ↑ @SS_SalmonSeeker Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  24. ↑ @ESCOweb3 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  25. ↑ @samsdivakar Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  26. ↑ @CryptosR_Us Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  27. ↑ @starcada1 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  28. ↑ @SmaugPool Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  29. ↑ @SmaugPool Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  30. ↑ @Cardano Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  31. ↑ Common Cardano scams you should avoid | cardano.org | Cardano (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  32. ↑ @MrStrange84 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  33. ↑ @BullishAlex Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  34. ↑ @IOHK_Charles Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  35. ↑ - YouTube (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  36. ↑ @BatCaveNode Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  37. ↑ @TapTools Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  38. ↑ @ZeruKami Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  39. ↑ @Ploppert1 Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  40. ↑ @ItsCryptoMike Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  41. ↑ @CardanoNation Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  42. ↑ @CryptoEducStan Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
  43. ↑ @Trading_CSgroup Twitter (Accessed Jan 23, 2025)
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