- According to Arkham Intelligence, the individual or group responsible for the $82 million hack of the cross-chain bridge Orbit Chain in December has come out of retirement to transfer roughly $48 million in funds via Tornado Cash.
Orbit Chain, a cross-chain bridge, saw an attack in the last hours of 2023 that took $81.5 million out of the protocol over the course of multiple transactions.
After the attack, the money was left in place until Saturday, when the hacker(s) started transferring roughly $48 million to Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency mixing service, according to Arkham Intelligence on X.
The reason behind the hacker’s comeback from hibernation is unknown. In an announcement, Orbit Chain, which had only started to provide some bridging services again after the exploit, stated that the money had been sent.
In a statement posted to its Telegram channel, the protocol said Our staff is currently collaborating closely with the appropriate authorities to locate the stolen assets quickly and take the appropriate action.
Blockchain data indicates that the hacker transferred roughly $48 million to a different wallet before transferring the money to Tornado Cash. Due to the assets’ increase in value since the incident, the hacker still holds control over roughly $71 million in DAI and ether stablecoins.
Although the protocol has indicated that, to its knowledge, the event did not originate from a vulnerability in the Orbit Bridge smart contract or the loss of a validator key, Orbit Chain has not yet provided a definitive explanation for the hack.
Orbit Chain suggested in a blog post that the assault might have been caused by the former chief information security officer of the protocol acting covertly. Our workers have been greatly shocked by this, and we are taking the appropriate legal and criminal action right now, according to the process.
Disclaimer : This article was created for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. An asset’s past performance does not predict its future returns. Before making an investment, please conduct your own research, as digital assets like cryptocurrencies are highly risky and volatile financial instruments.
