A large-scale supply chain attack has impacted a popular JavaScript package manager, NPM. The breach compromised over 1 billion downloads of various software packages, leading to malicious code injecting crypto-address hijackers into affected projects. While the attackers only currently profited $496, the incident highlights a significant threat within web development and cryptocurrency ecosystems. The attack leveraged an NPM account compromise to insert malicious JavaScript code, targeting popular libraries like express and color-convert. This action has raised alarm bells in the crypto world as it could affect numerous applications and users. 1. The Attack: The attack exploited a compromised NPM account belonging to renowned developer Charles Guillemet. This allowed hackers to distribute malicious code through widely used packages, including chalk, strip-ansi, and color-convert. 2. Impact: Millions of developers and crypto projects rely on NPM for dependencies, making them highly vulnerable to such attacks. 3. Mitigation: While the attack has been mitigated, this incident emphasizes the need for heightened awareness and preventative measures. Developers should prioritize secure dependency management practices. 4. Ongoing Developments: The security team at NPM is actively working with developers to identify affected packages and ensure their removal from distribution channels. Additionally, platforms like MetaMask and Phantom have reported no impact from this attack. However, users are advised to exercise caution while using unverified or untrusted applications until the situation is fully resolved.