Crypto Hacks Kickstart 2024 with Over $89M in Losses
This week, the digital asset world was rocked by three major crypto hacks, resulting in the theft of millions of dollars. No part of the DeFi sector was safe, with bridges being hacked and vulnerabilities exploited in lending protocols. If you want to understand how these attacks happened and what they mean for you, this guide will provide you with the essential details to navigate the crypto realm with caution.
Let’s dive in.
Orbit Bridge Breach: An Astonishing $82M Incident
As 2024 began, a shocking exploit came to light. On New Year’s Eve, hackers orchestrated a breach worth $81.7 million on Orbit Chain’s bridging service, Orbit Bridge. Interestingly, they compromised 7 out of 10 multi-sig signers and started with 10 $ETH from TornadoCash, a popular currency mixing service among hackers. They then transferred this cryptocurrency to an intermediary address.
The attack was carried out through five separate transactions. The hackers moved significant amounts, including $30 million in Tether (USDT), $10 million in USD Coin (USDC), $21.7 million in Ether (ETH), $9.8 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and $10 million in the algorithmic stablecoin DAI, to undisclosed wallets.
Radiant Capital’s Challenge: Uncovering a $4.5M Breach
Radiant Capital, a cross-chain lending protocol, halted its lending and borrowing markets on Arbitrum after discovering a reported $4.5 million (2337 ETH) exploit linked to one of its newly created USDC Coin (USDC) markets.
The attacker manipulated the index parameter to become extremely large. The contract had a rounding issue in its calculations, leading to a cumulative precision error.
Due to the significant inflation of the index parameter, this precision error was amplified, allowing the attacker to profit through repeated deposit() and withdraw() operations.
Gamma Strategies’ Strategy: Retrieving $3.4M
Gamma Strategies, a company specializing in Ethereum-based liquidity management, took a unique approach to address its $3.4 million exploit on January 4th. They directly engaged with the attacker and initiated a negotiation for a bounty to recover the misappropriated digital assets.
We are curious to know: How are you adjusting your investing strategy in light of these attacks?
Tags: Hacks