Cryptocurrency

Twitter thread about the project from _neptiris_

2022-02-01 [vendor] COVID-19 NFT spam [chain] tezos
Primary Source ↗
Affected 96K individuals/accounts
Blockchain(s) Tezos

Incident Details

Artist bayneko created and airdropped NFTs of microscope pictures of SARS-COV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) to all 96,186 users of Hic et Nunc (HEN) who hold at least one NFT. HEN is an NFT marketplace built atop the Tezos blockchain. The NFT description read, “Your wallet has been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19… in an act symbolic of the invasive and ubiquitous nature of the virus and its psychological effects.” It cost the creator 1,623 ꜩ (about $5,900) to accomplish — a chunk of change, though considerably less than it would cost on higher-fee blockchains like Ethereum. Users reacting to the airdrop expressed a mixture of interest, confusion, annoyance, fear — some were scared to burn or transfer the NFT because of past NFTs that executed malicious contracts upon being destroyed. Others were unhappy with receiving an unsolicited NFT, which they felt was spammy. Others spoke about how, although this particular project appeared to be a good-faith art project, it illustrated the susceptibility of these systems to spam and abuse, especially on blockhains with lower transaction fees.

Technical Details

Vendor / Product
COVID-19 NFT spam

Timeline

  1. 2022-02-01 Breach occurred
  2. 2022-02-01 Publicly disclosed