Drift Protocol $280M Exploit Traced to Months-Long Deception Scheme

Drift Protocol has identified the recent $280 million exploit as a six-month-long, coordinated attack by actors previously linked to the 2024 Radiant Capital hack. The attackers, posing as a legitimate trading firm, gained trust through in-person interactions at crypto conferences before executing the breach.

• Drift Protocol suffered a $280 million exploit following a six-month-long intelligence operation.
• Attackers posed as a quantitative trading firm and engaged Drift contributors at a major crypto conference in October 2025.
• The same group is believed to be responsible for the 2024 Radiant Capital hack.
• The attackers used shared malicious links and tools to compromise devices and executed the exploit.
• Drift confirmed that the individuals involved were not North Korean nationals, despite similarities to past DPRK tactics.
• The incident underscores the need for heightened caution in in-person interactions at crypto conferences.