Hackers attacked synthetic dollar issuer Ethena, but the protocol said its core blockchain infrastructure remained uncompromised.

On Sept. 18, bad actors successfully breached the website of decentralized finance service provider Ethena Labs (ENA). The team’s alert explained that only its frontend UI was impacted, and funds were neither at risk nor drained.

As of this writing, attempts by crypto.news to ascertain how hackers accessed the project’s website management console have gone unanswered. Users were advised to avoid links tied to the project and disconnect wallets until further notice.

Ethena is one of the largest synthetic dollar operators in DeFi. Its collateralized, dollar-tied token has a $2.6 billion supply, most of which is issued on Ethereum (ETH), per DefiLlama. However, a new player could challenge the protocol’s market share in the coming months. Crypto market maker DWF Labs said work on its synthetic dollar offering progressed before the design stage.

Hackers target Ethena and DeFi

Ethena and several other DeFi protocols have been subject to compromises across different layers. In some cases, hackers attacked on-chain endpoints and exploited smart contract bugs to steal funds.

Conversely, bad actors have increasingly targeted web2 services employed by web3 startups. Like Ethena’s domain registrar, criminals also attacked websites owned by Celer Network and Compound Finance in July.

The most common attack often involves launching phishing campaigns through hijacked X pages. Earlier this month, hackers gained access to social media accounts managed by layer-1 blockchain Near Protocol (NEAR) and Trump family members, to name a few.