Over $600 Million Stolen In Largest Cryptocurrency Hack In History
Over $600 million in cryptocurrency were stolen recently, making it the largest haul in history. Here's what happened
In what is being called the biggest haul in the history of digital funds, $611 million in cryptocurrency were stolen from PolyNetwork, a protocol which allows users to conduct business across blockchains.
Blockchains are essentially decentralised ledgers that facilitate transactions among users without the need for any clearance from a central authority, unlike online transactions that currently deal in national currencies.
In a letter posted on Twitter, PolyNetwork claimed that "tens of thousands" of users have been affected by the hack. Stablecoin Tether was also a part of the theft and has now frozen $33 million, making it inaccessible to the hackers.
Important Notice:
¡ª Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) August 10, 2021
We are sorry to announce that #PolyNetwork was attacked on @BinanceChain @ethereum and @0xPolygon Assets had been transferred to hacker's following addresses:
ETH: 0xC8a65Fadf0e0dDAf421F28FEAb69Bf6E2E589963
BSC: 0x0D6e286A7cfD25E0c01fEe9756765D8033B32C71
Also read: Risk In Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Trading: A Financial Risk Expert Explains
What we know so far
Stablecoins are essentially cryptocurrencies that peg their value to external references, including other cryptocurrencies or even conventional money - keeping their value stable, as the name suggests. The hackers were able to successfully transfer Binance Chain, Ethereum and Polygon assets into their pockets.
It is unclear who runs the protocol on PolyNetwork, making it difficult to trace transactions that happen on the platform.
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Its decentralised nature may have caused a surge in the popularity of the currency, but such instances of serious theft and hacking are likely to dent people's perception of cryptocurrencies.
Also read: Bitcoin To Dogecoin: What Is Cryptocurrency And How Does It Work?
Many switched to crypto simply owing to the freedom it offers - eliminating the need for intermediaries.
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Crypto community extends helping hand
On Twitter, a security researcher SlowMist claimed to have found various credentials of the attacker - including their email, IP address and device fingerprints. The research firm added that the attack is likely to be a product of long-planning and preparation.
2)The SlowMist security team has grasped the attacker's mailbox, IP, and device fingerprints through on-chain and off-chain tracking, and is tracking possible identity clues related to the Poly Network attacker.
¡ª SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) August 10, 2021
Crypto community has extended a helping hand to PolyNetwork. Binance Chief Executive Officer Changeng Zhao said on Twitter that they're assisting PolyNetwork.
We are aware of the https://t.co/IgGJ0598Q0 exploit that occurred today. While no one controls BSC (or ETH), we are coordinating with all our security partners to proactively help. There are no guarantees. We will do as much as we can. Stay #SAFU. ? https://t.co/TG0dKPapQT
¡ª CZ ? Binance (@cz_binance) August 10, 2021
Decentralised finance or DeFi applications are increasingly becoming every investor's favourite.
But the mechanism has been targeted by a series of attacks. DeFi-related attacks accounted for 60 per cent of all crypto attacks, up by 20 per cent last year, Bloomberg reported.
According to CipherTrace, a crypto security firm, the amount stolen from DeFi attacks in the first five months of 2021 ($156 million) surpassed the amount stolen during all of 2020 ($129 million).
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