# PhishDestroy threat dossier — hotstuff-app.xyz ================================================================ Fetched: 2026-04-22 23:31:59 UTC Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/hotstuff-app.xyz/ ## VERDICT ---------------------------------------------------------------- HIGH THREAT — malicious activity confirmed Composite threat score: 69/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below) ## DETECTION EVIDENCE ---------------------------------------------------------------- VirusTotal: 1/94 security vendors flagged this domain Flagging vendors: alphaMountain.ai ## INFRASTRUCTURE ---------------------------------------------------------------- IP address: 188.114.97.3 (CA, Toronto) ASN: AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. Hosting org: CloudFlare, Inc. Registrar: PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com Nameservers: ["dan.ns.cloudflare.com", "rosa.ns.cloudflare.com"] Registered: 2026-04-16 Page title: Website unavailable HTTP response: 200 ## TLS CERTIFICATE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Issuer: Let's Encrypt / E7 Expires: 2026-07-07 Status: INVALID chain Fingerprint: cff1bd87cf76c27836c38ce63b2af270c2e33cdfe9a9aaf567272684b151803b ## ABUSE-REPORT HISTORY (evidence of registrar non-response) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Status: pending notification queue. No abuse reports filed yet — this domain is waiting for the next cycle of our automated abuse-reporter. ## TIMELINE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Domain registered: 2026-04-16 (per WHOIS / CT — may reflect a renewal or transfer date, not first-ever registration) First detected: 2026-04-16 21:38:26 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker) Earliest abuse rec: 2026-04-16 18:39:21 UTC — PREDATES current WHOIS registration; retained from a previous registration cycle of the same domain name Last verified: 2026-04-21 16:09:00 UTC Current status: ACTIVE / observable Note: one or more events above predate the WHOIS creation date. This typically means the same domain name was previously registered, detected, dropped, and then re-registered by a new party. PhishDestroy preserves the full historical record for operator-attribution research even when the underlying infrastructure changes hands. ## EXTERNAL CORROBORATION (third-party evidence) ---------------------------------------------------------------- URLScan.io: https://urlscan.io/result/019d9795-8de4-77b9-9592-a5513d7dd189/ URLQuery: https://urlquery.net/report/7fc34833-d181-47bc-bd6e-946e96c3d3e3 Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/hotstuff-app.xyz crt.sh CT logs: https://crt.sh/?q=%25.hotstuff-app.xyz Google transparency: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=hotstuff-app.xyz AlienVault OTX: https://otx.alienvault.com/indicator/domain/hotstuff-app.xyz URLhaus: https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/host/hotstuff-app.xyz/ ## ANALYST NARRATIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Generated: 2026-04-16 21:38:51 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.] PhishDestroy identifies hotstuff-app.xyz as a HotStuff protocol-themed phishing domain currently active and under investigation as of April 2026. This domain mimics legitimate HotStuff blockchain or consensus protocol services to deceive users into disclosing credentials or cryptocurrency-related information. The campaign is classified under generic_phishing with no current blocklist detections, indicating a newly launched but unflagged threat vector. This domain was flagged by 0 of 95 VirusTotal vendors, suggesting it remains undetected by most security engines as of the latest scan. It is registered through PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com, resolving to IP address 188.114.97.3. The domain was created on April 08, 2026, and secured with a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. These technical indicators reveal a rapidly deployed infrastructure using reputable hosting and certificate authorities to enhance credibility. The lack of detections and low age make this domain particularly dangerous to users unfamiliar with HotStuff-related services. Given the active status and absence of detections, immediate caution is advised when encountering hotstuff-app.xyz or any subdomains. Users are recommended to avoid interacting with the domain or its linked content, especially if soliciting cryptocurrency transactions or credential input. Security teams should add 188.114.97.3 and hotstuff-app.xyz to network blocklists and inspect DNS resolutions for related domains. Organizations should also warn users about spoofed HotStuff protocol communications and monitor for credential harvesting attempts under this campaign identifier 1e9271. [Updates since narrative was generated:] - VirusTotal detections: now 1/94 (narrative was written when count was lower) ## EVIDENCE HASHES ---------------------------------------------------------------- PhishDestroy Case ID: PD-20260416-C3ED17 Favicon MD5: 7204850560e39efe1510bdf38e09b2da TLS cert SHA-256: cff1bd87cf76c27836c38ce63b2af270c2e33cdfe9a9aaf567272684b151803b ## SCORING METHODOLOGY ---------------------------------------------------------------- Composite score is NOT derived from VirusTotal alone. PhishDestroy aggregates: - VirusTotal positive ratio - Public blocklist consensus (MetaMask, ScamSniffer, OpenPhish, PhishTank, URLhaus, CryptoFirewall, SEAL, Polkadot, Enkrypt, Phishunt, DiscordPhishing, PhishingDB) - Cloaking detection (HTTP 666 or rendering delta between bot and real visitor) - DNS-filter consensus (Quad9, CleanBrowsing, NextDNS, AdGuard, Cloudflare, etc.) - AlienVault OTX pulses + Cloudflare Radar + Google Safe Browsing - URLScan / URLQuery verdicts - Brand-impersonation heuristics (DOM analysis of forms, logos, wording) - Known phishing-kit fingerprinting (favicon hash, JS obfuscation signatures) - Wallet-drainer family classification (Angel, MS, Rainbow, Pink, Inferno, ...) - Free-TLS vs paid-cert ratio (throwaway infrastructure signal) - Registrar/hosting abuse history (this registrar's track record) - Human researcher sign-off (volunteer takedown team) A domain present in our database is ALREADY flagged. A low VT count by itself does NOT mean the domain is safe — new scam domains routinely show 0/95 VT for their first 7–30 days while actively draining wallets. Always cross-reference the composite score and the individual indicators above, not just VT. ## CORRECTIONS / APPEALS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Full HTML report: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/hotstuff-app.xyz/ JSON API: https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=hotstuff-app.xyz Appeal a flag: https://phishdestroy.io/appeals/ (responded to within 48 hours, FP rate <0.01%) Submit a report: https://t.me/PhishDestroy_bot About PhishDestroy: volunteer-driven open-source threat-intelligence platform. Tracked: 131,000+ phishing domains. Confirmed takedowns: 91,000+. Site: https://phishdestroy.io