RENBRIDGE HACKED OF OVER $540 MILLION WORTH OF CRYPTO ASSETS
Decentralized Finance continues to seem more unsafe by the day. With new and emerging technologies, DeFi firms and companies need to be on their A-game to curb the hacking menace ravaging space.
According to a Blockchain analysis firm; Elliptic, Cross-chain bridges are alternatives to crypto exchanges that help in transferring value between blockchains, with the critical difference of lack of regulations.
In recent times, since the spree of hacking and social engineering, vices became a thing in crypto. Cross-chain bridges have been a major target and have been affected most since the year commenced. According to the released data by Elliptic, it alleges that RenBridge has been used to siphon over $540 million worth of assets.
The reports that surfaced on Wednesday went further to explain that RenBridge had helped the supposed theft of at least $540 million worth of crypto assets since 2020. It alleges that the Cross-chain was successfully used for this through a means Called “Chain hopping”
CHAIN HOPPING
This is a process whereby crypto is converted from one form to another and then moved across several blockchains.
It shouldn’t be mistakenly assumed that these Cross-chain bridges are malicious, but their unregulated features make them a fallow ground to breed such hacks. For record’s sake, blockchain bridges are majorly used for clear and appropriate purposes for users wanting to move funds or assets across blockchains.
To use these bridges, a User can deposit tokens from a chain into a protocol run by the bridge network, this is made possible via a smart contract. At the end of the process, the user is given his desired token in the new chain.
Hackers and exploiters have taken advantage of this to convert assets to other chains, without regulation. Elliptic buttressed on this when it mentioned that gangs and hackers proceed to crime using these bridges like RenBrige to swap assets between chains.
It is worthy of note that, Conti ransomware group that was responsible for the attack on Costa Rican government, mid this year, successfully laundered over $53 million through the Cross-chain bridge: RenBrige.
Not long ago, CryptoUnfold reported the attack on NOMAD BRIDGE, another cross-chain bridge that was attacked and lost about $2.4 million worth of assets in crypto.
And the question on every lip remains, is there a security solution for Cross-chain bridge users? What do you think?
