Poly Network attackers return nearly half of the $600 Mn stolen funds

By Akshay Kedari  | Date: 2021-08-12

Poly Network attackers return nearly half of the $600 Mn stolen funds

Hackers who had stolen over USD 600 million in one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency heists have returned nearly half of the funds. The cybercriminals found and exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network, which is decentralized finance (DeFi) platform linking different blockchains to enable synchronized operations.

For the unversed, a blockchain is a registry of activities on which several cryptocurrencies are based. Every digital coin has a unique blockchain and Poly Network claims that it can make all these blockchains work with each other.

Poly Network said that the amount of money hacked is the largest in DeFi history. DeFi or decentralized finance encompasses financial applications based on blockchain technology that aim to cut out third-party transactions from exchanges and brokerages.

The crypto platform reported the theft on 11th August and sought to establish a dialogue with the attackers, asking them to return the hacked assets.

In an unexpected twist on 12th August, the cybercriminals began to transfer back some of the stolen amounts. They responded to Poly Network with a message embedded in a crypto transaction stating they were willing to return the funds.

The platform then replied and requested the money be transferred to three different crypto addresses.

As of 7 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, more than USD 4.8 million had been sent back to the Poly Network addresses and by 11 a.m. Eastern Time, nearly USD 258 million had been transferred.

Chief Scientist at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, Tom Robinson was quoted saying that the event demonstrates that even if crypto assets are stolen, laundering, and cashing them out becomes complex due to the high transparency offered by the blockchain.

Experts at security firm SlowMist said that after stealing the money, the hackers began transferring it to several addresses. A total of over USD 610 million worth of cryptocurrency had been transferred to three addresses.

Meanwhile, Poly Network has asked exchanges to blacklist crypto tokens being received from the addresses that were linked back to the hackers.

Source Credits –

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/11/cryptocurrency-theft-hackers-steal-600-million-in-poly-network-hack.html

About Author

Akshay Kedari     aeresearch.net

Akshay Kedari

A qualified computer engineering graduate, Akshay Kedari takes pride in having his way with words. Following his passion for content creation, he writes insightful pieces on aeresearch.net and a few other portals. Also endorsed with a short-term experience in web deve...

Read More >>

More News By Akshay Kedari

Federal Reserve increases interest rates amidst US banks’ failure

Federal Reserve increases interest rates amidst US banks’ failure

By Akshay Kedari

Despite the instability in the global financial market, the U.S. central bank has hiked its interest rates once again. The Federal Reserve has reportedly increased its rate by 0.25 percentage points. While the institution has warned other banks that ...

Apple delays employee bonuses, stops hiring amid cost-cutting efforts

Apple delays employee bonuses, stops hiring amid cost-cutting efforts

By Akshay Kedari

Apple has reportedly decided to delay the bonuses of certain divisions, alongside a halt on new hiring as part of its efforts to cut back costs. With this move, the firm joins its peers in Silicon Valley in trying to optimize workload during tough ti...

China focuses on growth of renewable energy usage amid coal boom

China focuses on growth of renewable energy usage amid coal boom

By Akshay Kedari

China is making rapid progress in limiting the emission of carbon by focusing on the expansion of renewable energy. According to the Global Energy Monitor, in 2022, China has approved its highest number of new coal-fired plants since 2015. This ha...

China factories expand production, record fastest pace in the decade

China factories expand production, record fastest pace in the decade

By Akshay Kedari

China’s manufacturing activity has reportedly shown rapid growth at the fastest pace of the decade, following the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions in late 2022. The country’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52....

Amazon employees sound off on recent work from office policy

Amazon employees sound off on recent work from office policy

By Akshay Kedari

Amazon employees have reportedly expressed disagreement about the company recent mandates asking employees to return to office for work. This included the spamming of an internal website with messages of opposition against the new policy. An inter...