Sahara AI Official Discord Account Compromised

From Quadriga Initiative Cryptocurrency Hacks, Scams, and Frauds Repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Notice: This page is a freshly imported case study from an original repository. While the original content had a similar format, some sections may not have been fully completed. Please help fill in any empty sections or any missing information you can find. If you are new here, please read General Tutorial on Wikis or Anatomy of a Case Study for help getting started.

Notice: This page contains sources which are not attributed to any text. The unattributed sources follow the initial description. Please assist by visiting each source, reviewing the content, and placing that reference next to any text it can be used to support. Feel free to add any information that you come across which isn't present already. Sources which don't contain any relevant information can be removed. Broken links can be replaced with versions from the Internet Archive. See General Tutorial on Wikis, Anatomy of a Case Study, and/or Citing Your Sources Guide for additional information. Thanks for your help!

Sahara AI Logo/Homepage

Sahara AI is an artificial intelligence sharing platform, where users can coordinate usage of different AI solutions. The Shortly after putting out a call to expand their moderation team, the Discord channel of the project was compromised and a malicious link was posted, claiming to be an official airdrop of the project. Multiple users appear to suggest that they have lost funds or connected their wallet to the malicious phishing site. Discord access was restored. There is no word on whether any victims of the phishing have been compensated or any efforts have been made to track down their funds.[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]

About Sahara AI

"The Decentralized AI Blockchain Platform For an open, equitable, and collaborative economy SOC2 CERTIFIED FOR SECURITY & PRIVACY TRUSTED BY LEADING TECH INNOVATORS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS"

"Sahara AI is a decentralized AI blockchain platform that prioritizes AI asset sovereignty, ensuring security, equity, and accessibility for all users. The Sahara platform empowers users with complete control and ownership over their AI assets, ensuring transparency, security, and fair compensation in every interaction. The platform also delivers innovative, high-performance AI solutions that are ethically designed and universally accessible, enabling individuals and enterprises to leverage the full potential of AI without compromising on privacy or sovereignty."

"Whether you're looking to monetize personal knowledge, streamline team collaboration, or are just an AI enthusiast, there's a place for you in the collaborative AI economy."

"Sahara AI can be used by any enterprise — small or large — to personalize customer experiences, optimize decision-making, unlock new business opportunities, and more with custom Sahara Agents."

"Sahara AI is proud to announce the beginning of the Official Sahara Airdrop. Community members are now welcome to signup using their EVM wallets to receive a part of the initial 5% token distribution of our upcoming... More details regarding $SAHARA's tokenomics & release schedule will be released in a blogpost in the upcoming weeks."

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 decentralized AI blockchain platform Sahara AI announced on the X platform that their official Discord has been compromised. Users are advised not to click on any links or respond to any messages until further notice."

Key Event Timeline - Sahara AI Official Discord Account Compromised
Date Event Description
August 14th, 2024 7:09:00 AM MDT Funding Round Completed Sahara AI announces the completion of a $43m funding round on Twitter.
August 18th, 2024 10:53:00 AM MDT Looking For Discord Team Members The Sahara AI team announces that they are looking for new moderators on Discord to join their team.
August 19th, 2024 5:15:00 AM MDT Discord Hack Screenshot Posted A screenshot is posted of the hacked discord with a fake official airdrop posted.
August 19th, 2024 5:20:00 AM MDT Approximate Time Of Breach According to Sahara AI official report, this is the approximate time when their Discord account was breached.
August 19th, 2024 5:33:00 AM MDT Sahara AI Twitter Announcement Sahara AI posts on Twitter to announce that their Discord has been hacked and requests users to "NOT click any links or respond to any messages until further notice".
August 20th, 2024 5:11:00 AM MDT Discord Back Online Post Mortem Sahara AI posts an update to Twitter to announce that their Discord channel has been reopened.

Technical Details

"Earlier yesterday, around 4:20 AM PT, our Discord server experienced a security breach when an employee’s account with admin credentials was compromised. The attacker leveraged this access to bring in malicious accounts and bots, causing disruptions across the server"

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

"Important Update: Our Discord was compromised

We've identified a security breach in our Discord. Please DO NOT click any links or respond to any messages until further notice. We are working to resolve the situation and secure our server.

Your safety is our priority, and we'll keep you updated with progress. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Thank you for your understanding and support."

"Our mods and executive team acted swiftly to mitigate the damage by locking the server and removing any posts from the hackers."

Ultimate Outcome

"A huge thank you to our community members who helped identify changes, flag compromised accounts, and provided critical support throughout this process.

We are implementing enhanced security measures to protect our server and community moving forward. Your safety and the integrity of our community are our top priorities. We’re conducting a full review of our protocols and will take every step necessary to harden our defenses.

We have also seen an uptick in fraudulent posts and accounts across X/Twitter. Please remain vigilant – remember, all official news will be posted across ALL our official channels: X, Discord, and our website."

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. ↑ SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  2. ↑ @SaharaLabsAI Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  3. ↑ @DomAKelly Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  4. ↑ @Mpunkillers Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  5. ↑ @slicktcryp Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  6. ↑ @Deadmouse_jpeg Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  7. ↑ @SaharaLabsAI Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  8. ↑ Sahara AI: The Decentralized AI Blockchain Platform for a Collaborative Economy (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  9. ↑ Overview | Help Center (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  10. ↑ @SaharaLabsAI Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  11. ↑ @kairvoz Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  12. ↑ @De_FiSecurity Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  13. ↑ @sirserney Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  14. ↑ @wenaltcoin Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  15. ↑ @GloriousKing225 Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  16. ↑ @ithmzhere Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  17. ↑ @LEZZYBRUV Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  18. ↑ @HZB_Token Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  19. ↑ @0xare Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  20. ↑ @6x9uto Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  21. ↑ @SokolJura Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  22. ↑ @NamNguyen_HCM Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  23. ↑ @KRISHNA_20397 Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  24. ↑ @ICODrops Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
  25. ↑ @SaharaLabsAI Twitter (Accessed Sep 4, 2024)
Retrieved from "https://quadrigainitiative.com/cryptocurrencyhackscamfraudwiki/index.php?title=Sahara_AI_Official_Discord_Account_Compromised&oldid=6306"