A social media user successfully manipulated Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok into helping him scam a second AI chatbot into transferring $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency by sending hidden instructions encoded in Morse code.
Dexerto reports that a sophisticated exploit targeting AI systems on the X platform has resulted in the theft of roughly $200,000 in cryptocurrency tokens. The incident demonstrates concerning vulnerabilities in AI-enabled financial systems and their ability to be manipulated through creative social engineering techniques.
The exploit involved two separate AI systems with cryptocurrency wallet access: Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI company, and Bankrbot, an automated trading bot. The attacker successfully manipulated both systems into executing an unauthorized transaction on the Base blockchain network.
The perpetrator, operating under the X handle @Ilhamrfliansyh, received 3 billion DRB tokens valued at approximately $200,000 at the time of the transfer. The entire operation was executed by sending a concealed instruction written in Morse code that successfully bypassed existing security safeguards and triggered the unauthorized transfer. The user’s account was subsequently deleted following completion of the transaction.
The attack employed a carefully planned multi-step process to gain control over the transaction. According to details reported by Cryptopolitan, the attacker initiated the scheme by sending a Bankr Club Membership NFT to Grok’s cryptocurrency wallet. This digital asset transfer had the effect of expanding the AI chatbot’s permissions within the Bankr system ecosystem, granting it capabilities to perform previously restricted actions including token transfers and cryptocurrency swaps.
Once these elevated permissions were in place, the attacker proceeded to the next phase of the exploit. They prompted Grok on the X platform to translate a message encoded in Morse code and relay the decoded content directly to Bankrbot. The translated message contained specific instructions commanding the bot to transfer 3 billion DRB tokens to a designated wallet address controlled by the attacker.
The critical vulnerability exploited in this incident was that the decoded message was automatically treated as a legitimate command by the system. With no additional verification or human oversight, the instruction was executed immediately. The transaction was completed on the Base blockchain network, successfully transferring the full token amount to the wallet address specified by the attacker.
Following the unauthorized transfer, the perpetrator moved quickly to convert the stolen assets into other forms of value. The attacker immediately sold the DRB tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges, causing the token’s market price to tumble as the large volume of tokens flooded the market.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, praised Code Red as a “must-read.” She added: “Few understand our conservative fight against Big Tech as Hall does,” making him “uniquely qualified to examine how we can best utilize AI’s enormous potential, while ensuring it does not exploit kids, creators, and conservatives.” Award-winning investigative journalist and Public founder Michael Shellenberger calls Code Red “illuminating,” ”alarming,” and describes the book as “an essential conversation-starter for those hoping to subvert Big Tech’s autocratic plans before it’s too late.”
Read more at Dexerto here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
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