Crypto Under Siege: Cointelegraph Hacked—Who’s Next in the Crosshairs?
Another day, another crypto breach—this time it's industry giant Cointelegraph in the hot seat. The attack exposes the sector's persistent security flaws, proving even the loudest voices aren't immune.
Who's pulling the strings? While no group has claimed responsibility yet, blockchain sleuths are tracing the digital fingerprints. The timing couldn't be worse—just as institutional investors were starting to take crypto seriously again.
Security theater meets decentralized finance. Despite billions poured into 'unhackable' systems, attackers keep finding backdoors. Maybe next time we'll just write the private keys on a napkin—it'd be about as secure as some of these 'enterprise-grade' solutions.
ALERT: We are aware of a fraudulent pop-up falsely claiming to offer “CoinTelegraph ICO Airdrops” or “CTG tokens” that are appearing on our site.
DO NOT: – Click on these pop-ups – Connect your wallets – Enter any personal information
We are actively working on a fix.
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) June 23, 2025
Fake Airdrop Interface
According to Scam Sniffer, the bogus pop-up included a countdown timer and buttons that felt just like a standard token drop. It even showed a reward worth $5,490 and labeled the process “secure,” “instant,” and “verified.”
Based on reports, none of those descriptions were true. There is no CTG token on CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, or any major blockchain explorer. That should have been a red flag.
CoinTelegraph’s frontend has been compromised. Please be cautious. pic.twitter.com/sH025Zek8p
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) June 23, 2025
Attack Via Ad System
Security experts traced the malicious JavaScript back to Cointelegraph’s ad partner rather than its Core website code.
Cointelegraph later confirmed that the breach came through its advertising system and not a flaw in its main infrastructure.
A similar hack hit CoinMarketCap over the same weekend, showing that attackers are now focusing on trusted ad networks to slip in harmful scripts.
Once a user clicked “connect,” the hidden code could trigger wallet approvals and transfers without clear consent.
Effectively, hackers have blanket permission to transfer money out of a wallet in seconds. This approach is riskier than standard phishing emails because they sneak up on individuals unexpectedly on sites they trust.
Calls For Improved DefensesAs these ad-based attacks become increasingly prevalent, crypto platforms come under pressure to lock down all third-party integrations.
Experts recommend more rigorous audits of ad code, sandboxing of third-party scripts, and real-time monitoring of site activity. On the end-user side, installing ad blockers or script-blocking add-ons WOULD preclude these stealth threats.
Based on what transpired this weekend, it’s apparent that attackers have changed their modus operandi from email cons to front-end hacks on prominent sites. Cointelegraph and CoinMarketCap are only the latest victims.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
