Gala Games Suffers Massive Hack, $22M in Crypto Stolen
One of the leading blockchain gaming platforms, Gala Games, has fallen victim to a large-scale hack, unparalleled in the industry.
According to Gala Games’ founder, Eric Schiermeyer, hackers liquidated 600 million internal GALA tokens, amounting to approximately 5913 Ether (over $22 million).
However, the criminal activity did not stop there. The perpetrators also created an additional 4.4 billion GALA tokens. Fortunately, swift actions by the team managed to block the hackers’ account and annul the transaction.
Nevertheless, the overall damage from the attack is immense. Schiermeyer noted that a breach of this magnitude was possible due to violations of internal security procedures, which allowed the hackers to penetrate the administrative system.
Following the incident, Gala Games has contacted law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and engaged an “international network of authorities.” The identity of the suspected perpetrator has already been determined.
Founded in 2019, Gala Games positions itself as a pioneer in blockchain gaming with a Play-to-Earn model that rewards users with its cryptocurrency for their in-game activities. One of the platform’s founders, Eric Schiermeyer, has a wealth of experience in the gaming industry—he was previously a co-founder of Zynga, the largest developer of online games such as FarmVille.
Regrettably, the attack on Gala Games is not an isolated incident in the crypto-gaming industry recently. In 2022, hackers executed one of the largest thefts in history, stealing over $600 million from the Axie Infinity platform. Another notable incident involved the game WonderHero, which lost 320,000 Binance Coins.
According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, some of these hacks are attributed to hacker groups linked to North Korea, specializing in cyberattacks on cryptocurrency companies. Over the past three years, they have managed to steal billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies.
It is evident that the blockchain gaming industry is becoming an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals. The hack on Gala Games has underscored the necessity for stricter security measures and the enhancement of internal protocols in companies to protect against similar incidents in the future.
