Algorand CEO’s hacked account dances into pole position

The Algorand Foundation announced on X (formerly Twitter) that its CEO Staci Warden’s X account was compromised and asked its community to refrain from clicking links or responding to direct messages. 

‼️ @StaciW_DC’s account has been compromised.

Please do not click on any links on her account or respond to DMs.

We are in the process of recovering it.

— Algorand Foundation (@AlgoFoundation) January 26, 2024

On Jan. 26, Warden’s X account shared a post calling the Algorand community poor while using a well-known racial slur, indicating that someone else is in control of the account. Following this, the hacker urged the community to sell Algorand (ALGO) and buy Ether (ETH) instead. 

After the post, the attacker shared a satirical story about how Tron founder Justin Sun would boost Algorand to “new heights.” According to the hacker, all they had to do was give Sun “total control” over Algorand and allow him to mint any token back to True USD (TUSD). The hacker wrote: 

“Of course, I accepted this offer immediately. Soon, Algorand will be pegged to VERY REAL USD and a new era of digital commerce will commence.”

The hacker also used satire to allege Sun’s projects will be responsible for the next “major financial collapse in crypto.”

Apart from these, the hacker also posted music on the account and changed Warden’s profile bio, alleging that the CEO drained six figures from the community and gaslighted them into thinking it was a hack. The hacker also changed Warden’s bio to purport that Warden had already exited Algorand Foundation and is now a “semi-professional pole dancer.”

Related: Algorand shaves block times by 20% after Dynamic Lambda upgrade

Some community members, seemingly entertained by the hacker’s antics, responded to the post about Sun. An X user replied to the post saying that Algorand should hire the exploiter, while another said that Algorand should let him “keep the account.” 

Meanwhile, other community members took this opportunity to fling criticisms toward Warden. Crypto detective ZachXBT posted that the hacker would be a “better CEO” for the Algorand Foundation. Another X user said that Warden qualifies for the intern position at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which had its X account compromised on Jan. 9.

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