First Hacked, Then Phished – Enter The Sandbox

The Gaming community has been targeted by multiple cyber threats for quite some time now. Simply put, the more popular the game is, the bigger the damage. From Krunker and 2K Games to Valorant, all of those were victims of cybercrime in the past. Now, we can add The Sandbox to the mix.

This blockchain-based open-world multiplayer game has thousands of followers, which makes this attack quite dangerous. Apparently, an employee was hacked, leading to multiple phishing emails sent to users.

The emails contain a link that, in the end, injects malware into the victims’ devices. What’s at risk, and how is Sandbox handling the situation? We’ve discussed everything below.

A Sandbox of Malicious Hyperlinks

Everybody has his own taste when it comes to gaming. Some like strategy, some like MOBAs, and others like games they can profit from while having fun at the same time.

The Sandbox provides all of the above. Throughout the years, the game became very popular, allowing more than 350,000 users to create, share, as well as sell their assets to each other.

Not to mention create labyrinths, games, and exhibitions, and can even host parties. If that’s not fun, we don’t know what is.

With interactive content like virtual worlds, items, and experiences, users can do almost everything, including making money.

For example, they can create pixel art NFTs (Very popular nowadays) to sell on the platform’s NFT Marketplace or OpenSea.

They can also use the “SAND” token, which they can trade for real money on Binance and Coinbase. In this particular incident, an unknown threat actor managed to hack one of The Sandbox’s employees and started sending phishing emails to its users.

The emails appeared to be coming from The Sandbox and hosted links that led to other websites where the malware was present. Here’s what the company had to say:

Just like most phishing emails, the impact of the attack depends on whether the users click on the hyperlink or not.

The obvious advice is to treat every single email vigilantly and click no provided link if any exists. Make sure to check the game’s official page for additional information.

From SandBox to PhishBox in an Instant

The Sandbox confirmed the breach and warned its users about it. However, it also added extra steps to ensure that their data remains untouched and safe. According to its statement, users should do the following:

• Change your passwords and submit new strong ones.
• Enable two-factor authentications in case an unauthorized login occurs.
• Never follow a hyperlink provided in an email. Visit the official website manually.
• Download and install a reputable antivirus tool to scan and identify any kind of malware intrusion.
• In case you suspect any weird activity on your device, consider reformatting your device immediately.

With these steps, you can at least cut the risk of being a target. Your data should be protected all the time, and following the steps above can guarantee that.