NFT Artist DeeKay Loses Over $1 Million in Cyberattack During Flight

NFT artist DeeKay Kwon recently suffered a devastating cyberattack while on a 14-hour flight from Korea to New York. During this time, hackers gained access to his crypto wallets and stole his life savings, all earned through Web3 projects.

Without internet access during the flight, DeeKay was unaware of the attack until after landing.

Key Takeaways

• Cyberattack: DeeKay lost over $1 million in crypto while on a 14-hour flight.
• Compromised Wallet: Seed phrase stored in Google Drive might have been accessed.
• NFTs Safe: Strangely, the hackers didn’t target his NFT assets.

I just became a victim of cybercrime. All of my wallets were compromised, and my life savings, everything I earned as an artist in Web3 are gone. This happened during a 14-hour flight from Korea to New York, coincidentally in mid-flight when I had no internet access. I have no…

— DeeKay (@deekaymotion) October 11, 2024

In a social media post, he expressed disbelief and frustration at losing his funds, especially since his NFTs were left untouched. The funds were likely stolen after his seed phrase, which was stored as a photo in a Google Drive folder, was compromised.

How the Attack Happened

DeeKay had stored his seed phrase in a handwritten note synced to Google Drive.

Despite hiding the file, there were no signs of suspicious login activity, leaving him puzzled as to how the breach occurred.

He suspects it may have happened through a public Wi-Fi connection or a leak of the physical copy. Although his funds were stolen, his NFTs remained unaffected.

DeeKay has since started moving them to a secure wallet.

Growing Threat of Cyberattacks in Web3

This incident follows another high-profile phishing attack last week, where a crypto whale lost $32 million in wrapped ether (spWETH) tokens. Such attacks highlight the growing risk of cybercrime in the decentralized finance and NFT space. DeeKay’s case underscores the importance of securing sensitive data and using cold storage or hardware wallets to protect assets.

DeeKay remains deeply concerned about his family’s financial well-being, expressing that this situation is “the biggest challenge of my life.” Despite the emotional toll, he is now focusing on securing his remaining assets and learning from this painful experience.