A wave of cyberattacks and a dramatic cryptocurrency crash dominated headlines on Friday, February 6, 2026, while a suicide bombing in Pakistan added to the day's grim events. Cryptocurrency exchange dYdX users had their wallets emptied due to malicious code in open-source packages, while Bitcoin experienced a significant price drop, and a Shiite mosque in Islamabad was targeted in a deadly bombing.
Researchers from security firm Socket reported that malicious packages published on the npm and PyPI repositories were laced with code designed to steal wallet credentials from dYdX developers and backend systems. According to Ars Technica, the compromised packages, including npm (dydxprotocolv4-client-js) versions 3.4.1 and 1.22.1, put all applications using them at risk, leading to complete wallet compromise and cryptocurrency theft. The attack scope included both developers testing with real credentials and production end-users.
The cryptocurrency market also faced turmoil. Bitcoin's price plummeted, losing nearly $15,000 in 24 hours, a decline reminiscent of the 2022 collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's empire, according to Fortune. While Bitcoin recovered some of its losses, trading around $70,000 on Friday, the sudden drop left many crypto insiders questioning the cause. One theory, put forth by Parker White, former equities trader and current COO at DeFi Development Corporation, pointed to high-leverage Bitcoin bets placed by Hong Kong traders that went wrong.
In a separate incident, a suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others, according to NPR. The Associated Press reported that the attack was a rare bombing in Pakistan's capital, as the government struggled to control a surge in militant attacks across the country.
Adding to the cybersecurity concerns, VentureBeat highlighted the increasing sophistication of identity and access management (IAM) pivot attacks. These attacks, which can begin with a seemingly legitimate LinkedIn message, can lead to the exfiltration of cloud credentials, giving adversaries access to cloud environments within minutes.
Furthermore, Fortune reported on the capabilities of frontier AI models, such as Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6, in identifying security vulnerabilities. The model reportedly discovered over 500 previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities in open-source software libraries, raising questions about the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
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