Allbridge Recovers $465,000 Stolen in Crypto Exploit
Terrill Dicki Apr 05, 2023 08:14
Allbridge has recovered $465,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen in a recent exploit, after the attacker apparently took the project's offer for a white hat bounty and returned the funds. The stolen funds were converted to Binance USD and used as compensation. Allbridge had previously offered the attacker a chance to escape legal repercussions and receive a bounty for finding vulnerabilities. The project has yet to publicly disclose the total amount stolen but blockchain security firms estimate it to be close to $550,000.
According to a tweet that was published on April 3, a multichain token bridge known as Allbridge has successfully recovered bitcoin valued at $465,000 that was stolen in a recent exploit. A message was sent to the project by an individual who returned 1,500 BNB, which is equal to $465,000. The remaining money were deemed a white hat reward for the individual, as Allbridge had promised. After that, the project changed all of the Binance Coins (BNB) it had received into Binance Dollars (BUSD) so that they could be utilized as compensation.
Peckshield, a blockchain security company, was the first to discover the vulnerability. On April 1, the company sent a tweet to Allbridge in which it alerted the company that a person was manipulating the BNB Chain pools swap price by serving as both a liquidity provider and a swapper. As the vulnerability was discovered, Allbridge offered the attacker a reward as well as the opportunity to avoid legal repercussions.
Blockchain security companies CertiK and PeckShield calculated that the entire amount taken was very close to $550,000 despite the fact that the project has not publicly stated the complete amount that was stolen. According to PeckShield, the attack generated around $573,000 in total, comprised of $282,889 in Bitcoin USD and $290,868 worth of Tether (USDT).
Allbridge also disclosed that a second address made advantage of the same vulnerability and provided a link to a wallet that at the moment has 0.97 BNB, which has a value of around $300 at the time of this writing. The project requested that the second exploiter make contact and explore the possibility of the monies being returned.
After the original breach, Allbridge made it very obvious that it was collaborating with a number of different groups to recover the missing monies. BNB Chain was one of those firms, and on April 2, it tweeted that it had found at least one of the perpetrators engaged using on-chain analysis. This information was shared with the public. AvengerDAO was recognized by BNB Chain for its contributions to the money recovery effort, and BNB Chain is providing active assistance to the Allbridge team as they work to recover the funds.
The rapid reaction of Allbridge to the vulnerability as well as their offer of a white hat incentive for uncovering vulnerabilities highlight how important it is for the cryptocurrency sector to prioritize security. Projects may strengthen their security and stave off future assaults if hackers are offered financial incentives to disclose flaws rather than use them for their own gain. On the other hand, it is essential for organizations to collaborate in order to track down missing cash and hold those responsible for the thefts accountable for their actions.
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