Poly Network, a cross-chain decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has temporarily suspended its services, experiencing another hacking incident after the 2021 incident when $600 million worth of digital assets were stolen.
Due to several vulnerabilities in the platform, hackers managed to generate substantial amounts of different cryptocurrencies such as BUSD, SHIB, and BNB on various blockchains. In total, the attack impacted 57 altcoins and 10 different blockchains, which include Ethereum, BNB, Avalanche, OKx, Metis, Heco, and Polygon.
In response to the hack, the Poly Network team temporarily suspended its services, while they are actively assessing the size of compromised assets. The network reached out to centralized exchanges and law enforcement agencies. Additionally, they requested the assistance of “cybersecurity professionals and individuals with relevant knowledge,” as well as urged users with any insights on the case to report it to the team.
It is estimated that the value of the Poly Network attacker’s wallet reached around $43 billion. Unfortunately for them, due to limited market demand, selling these tokens to make profits will be difficult.
Despite the current instability, Poly Network is determined to safeguard its users’ assets, and it hopes that the attacker will return the stolen assets to avoid legal troubles.
Changpeng Zhao has also reacted to the cyber-attack on Poly Network. He provided data from Lookonchain, according to which the hackers managed to sell 94 billion SHIB for 360 ETH, 495 million COOK for 16 ETH, and 15 million RFuel for 27 ETH.
Zhao also assured Binance users that they were not going to be affected by the incident, for the exchange platform does not support deposits from compromised protocols. Zhao also mentioned that the Binance security team is assisting Poly Network with the problem.
Poly Network has already fallen victim to multiple attacks, with one of the biggest DeFi hacks dating back to 2021 when an exploit led to around $600 million being stolen. Back then, hackers managed to siphon digital currencies from the Ethereum network worth around $266.6 million, $85 million from Polygon, and $252 million from Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
Some of the crypto-tracking companies such as Chainalysis and Elliptic claimed that the person or people behind the attack wanted to expose the vulnerability of the network before others found its weak points. In the end, the hackers returned the total amount.
To conclude, Poly Network’s recent cyberattack has highlighted the need for improved security measures in the crypto industry. Poly Network is actively working on resolving the issue and collaborating with relevant entities to ensure a secure environment for its users.
