Wormhole Network Loses 120k wETH to Hackers
Earlier today, Wormhole Network posted a tweet explaining that their network was down following a cyber attack. They detailed that some hackers manipulated their systems and did away with 120k wETH. They have also asked their clients to be patient as they resolve the issue.
Wormhole Network Counts Losses Of About $325 M Following a Cyber Attack
Wormhole Network, a platform that facilitates funds transfer between Solana and Ethereum blockchain, has suffered a massive loss. The platform valued at $1B has lost 120K wETH with a value of about $325M to hackers in Solana’s largest cyber-attack.
The platform confirmed these developments through Twitter and announced that more ETH was being added to resume services. It first announced that their network was down for maintenance pending a cyberattack investigation.
One hour later, they confirmed that the looters had managed to vanish with wETH valued at $325M. The platform went ahead to embed a message on the ETH blockchain offering the attacker a bounty worth $10M to return the funds. Per blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the Wormhole attack is the fourth largest cyber attack in the history of cryptocurrency.
More about the Attack
Per reports, Forbes reached out to the platform but did not immediately respond to their request for official comments. Three hours after the attack, the platform said that the developers had already patched up the systems. It also added that it was unclear who the perpetrator was or how the users were affected by the saga.
After the attack, blockchain security firm Certik said that the attack was the largest ever on the Solana network. They also added that such an attack is unfortunate in the ever-growing DeFi space. Certik was also quick to note that this reality has heated up among crypto enthusiasts since such attacks have increased largely since 2021.
A Twitter account under the username @kelvinfichter also detailed the attack. The account pointed out that looters even pulled out 80K wETH using a single transaction. After working backward, he found out that the 80K wETH even bore signatures of the network’s guardians. The Dev team found evidence that the attackers minted the tokens and transferred them to the ETH network.
The thread also said that the hacker deposited 0.1ETH to Solana from ETH. The hacker then used a bug to manipulate the Solana network into approving the wETH minted by hackers by faking the guardian signatures. The hacker manipulated the system to look like it had certified the new coins and pretended they were real by transferring them back to the Ethereum network.
Crypto Targeted Cyber-Attacks Increase Parallel To Crypto Adoption
DeFi is one of the major targets for cyber attackers looting crypto projects. Last year saw an increase of these attacks by almost double the figures from 2020. Among the affected projects, According to data from Elliptic, DeFi has lost over $2B in cyber attacks since gaining popularity in 2020. A CNBC report also unveiled that losses related to crypto attacks rose by 79% from 2020. They also said that most of the money was lost through scamming, but cyber attacks also claimed a sizable share of $3.2B.
DeFi platforms contributed 72% of the total amount lost to cyber attacks in the crypto space. Since these numbers are worrying, investors can only hope that developers and incoming regulations will protect them better.
