Anatomy of a Cyber-crypto Heist: $22 Million in Crypto Lifted from Blockchain-based Gala Games

We continue to track notable convergences in the Global Gaming Ecosystem – like our recent analysis of  North Korea’s ‘Moonstone Sleet’ hacking group using a fake tank game for ransomware attacks.  In this post you will find the details of a May 2024 gaming platform-based cybercrime incident: The theft of $22 million in crypto from the blockchain-based platform Gala Games.

A Generational Shift: The Global Gaming Ecosystem as Attack Surface and Point of Entry

In the April 2023 OODA Network Member Meeting discussion – The DoD Discord Leak and the Future of Security Measures – there was the realization that” we have this generational shift that is going on right now with the younger generations that are fully digital and born-digital – Gen Y, and Gen Z”….and beyond.  Discord’s server-based community and communications were central to the 2023 Airman Jack Texeira case. Still, by all accounts, Discord-based comms usually run parallel to multi-player gaming activity amongst this age cohort.   Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox?  All are current building blocks of the future metaverse.  The Global Gaming Ecosystem is all at once an attack surface and point of entry.  Game worlds are already a clear gathering place – but do law enforcement and the IC have adequate entry into these communities for attribution efforts in response to incidents based on these platforms and in these younger communities?