Two years after suffering a $611 million hack, the Poly Network bridge is once again stealing funds. The protocol has closed its platform to its users and is trying to block the attacker’s assets by all means. Fortunately, thanks to a lack of liquidity, the losses involved in the attack are less. We take stock of the situation.
Poly Network undergoes a new hack
This Sunday, the cross-chain bridge deployed by Poly Network was targeted by a hacker. Therefore, the platform dedicated to the exchange of cryptocurrencies between different blockchains has suspended its services for an indefinite period.
Dear users, we would like to inform you that Poly Network is temporarily suspending its services due to a recent attack. We are actively engaging with relevant parties and diligently assessing the extent of the affected assets. 【1/3】
—Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) July 2, 2023
” Dear users, we would like to inform you that Poly Network is temporarily suspending its services due to a recent attack. We are actively working with affected parties and diligently assessing the extent of the affected assets. »
According to the most recent information, 57 cryptocurrencies are affected by the attack, all scattered across 10 different blockchains. This includes Polygon, Avalanche, Ethereum and BNB Chain networks to name a few.
The origin of the hack? A function of the smart contract hosting the liquidities has been exploited to create new tokens which, in reality, do not exist in the protocols issuing the cryptocurrencies concerned.
Theoretically, the thieves made new tokens worth today over $42 billion, of which more than half in BNB and BUSD. However, due to lack of liquidity on the platform, the hacker’s profits collapsed downwards. He leaves with $5.5 million in his pocket.
To avoid any overflow of the hack that could cause more losses, Poly Network advises its teams and cryptocurrency holders to withdraw their cash. At the same time, the protocol ensures that it is in correspondence with legal authorities to push the hacker to resign himself :
“ We have already initiated communication with centralized exchanges and law enforcement agencies to seek their assistance. We hope the attacker will cooperate and return the assets to avoid any potential legal consequences. »
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A previous $600 million hack
One of the priorities of Web3 applications is to be able to ensure the safety of their users’ funds while ensuring the transparency of their protocols. Thus, great importance is attributed to the fight against hackers.
In the past, Poly Network has failed in this mission: by being robbed of $611 million during an attack in August 2021, the protocol suffered, at its time, the largest financial loss of Web3 following a hack.
A few days after his operation, the assailant totally returned the stolen funds. For its part, the protocol had lifted all the charges against him. He will enjoy a $500,000 bonus as a reward, as well as a position as a computer security adviser for the company behind the protocol.
At the writing of these lines, the hack that has stolen the most funds is that of Ronin Network. The sidechain dedicated to the game Axie Infinity suffered a loss of $624 millionagain through a bridge.
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Source : Poly Network
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Always enthusiastic about new technologies, I gradually moved closer to Web3-related activities during the year 2021. Over time, I wanted to add my stone to the building. It was then that I became an editor, with the aim of explaining cryptocurrency-related topics to as many people as possible.
Timothy Bourbotte
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