More than $600 million was stolen in what could be the biggest hacker attack ever in the cryptocurrency market. Hackers allegedly exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network, a platform that links different block chains so they can collaborate, after they announced the theft on Twitter.
“Dear hacker, we are the Poly Network team. We want to establish a connection and ask you to return the stolen assets,” read the communication on the social network, where he later said he identified the source of the vulnerability between the contracts that allowed the hackers to enter. “The amount of stolen funds is the largest in the history of DEFI crypto.”
“The legal authorities of any country will consider it a major economic crime and you will be prosecuted. It is unwise to make more transactions. The money you stole belongs to hundreds of thousands of members of the crypto community, that is, the people. You. You should talk to us to work out a solution.”
– Poly Network (@PolyNetwork2) August 10, 2021
Poly Network did not immediately provide the amount, but security firm SlowMist notes that more than $610 million in crypto has been transferred to three different addresses. He also announced on Twitter: “SlowMist security team has been able to intercept device email, IP address and fingerprints through in- and out-of-network tracking and trace potential clues regarding the identity of a Poly network attacker.”
The attack would have been prepared and organized over a long period of time. The two companies have asked exchanges to blacklist the coins, with the $33 million cryptocurrency issuer Tether “freezing” involved in the attack.
Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance are also involved in the search for hacker and stolen crypto activities. CEO Changpeng Zhao has already said he knows about the attack. “Although no one controls the BSC [Binance Smart Chain] (or ETH), we coordinate with all security partners to help proactively. There are no guarantees. Let’s do everything we can,” he wrote on the social network.
We are aware of https://t.co/IgGJ0598Q0 Exploit today’s event. While no one controls the BSC (or ETH), we coordinate with all of our security partners to help proactively. There are no guarantees. We will do everything we can. stay #sappho. https://t.co/TG0dKPapQT
– CZ Binance (@cz_binance) August 10, 2021
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