Gala Games Loses $22.2M in Cryptocurrency Heist, Blames Internal Controls

Blockchain gaming platform Gala Games had nearly $22.2 million worth of cryptocurrency exfiltrated following a cryptocurrency heist on the evening of May 20

Blockchain gaming platform Gala Games has lost nearly $22.2 million in cryptocurrency following a hack on the evening of May 20, The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, reported.

The amount was derived from the 5,913 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) the hacker received in exchange for the 600 million GALA coins stolen from the platform, according to Gala Games founder Eric Schiermeyer.

The attacker's efforts to cash out nearly 4.4 billion more GALA coins were thwarted, Schiermeyer noted.

"We identified the compromise and within 45 minutes we secured and removed unauthorized access to the $GALA contract," Schiermeyer said, attributing the incident to the platform's lackluster internal controls.

Meanwhile, Gala Games was found by blockchain security experts to have had its administrative account breached to facilitate continuous new coin minting, The Record reported, citing blockchain analysis firm BlockSec.

The incident comes after the theft of almost $320,000 worth of Binance Coin (CRYPTO: BNB) from the WonderHero play-to-earn game and over 600 million from the widely known Axie Infinity (CRYPTO: AXS) game.