Recently, a hacker attempted to exploit the bridge protocol. However, the attempt failed miserably. In fact, numerous malicious entities have now targeted the cross-chain bridges. The entire crypto market has become dotted with hackers and scammers trying to rob assets worth millions. In fact, scammers and hackers are coming up with various new techniques. As a result, the cross-chain bridges and other crypto platforms are finding it really challenging to neutralise phishing attempts.
However, all hackers do not succeed in getting away with assets worth millions. In fact, you would be surprised to know that some hackers end up losing money in their scamming attempts. Well, you don’t believe that? Then you must go through the narrative that Alex Shevchenko, the CEO of Aurora Labs has shared on a Twitter thread.
1/15 The rainbow bridge is based on trustless assumptions with no selected middleman to transfer messages or assets between chains. Because of this, anyone can interact with its' smart contracts, including the NEAR light client: https://t.co/fkhHEJkBVg
— Alex Shevchenko 🇺🇦 (@AlexAuroraDev) August 22, 2022
According to Alex, a hacker tried to exploit the bridge protocol of Rainbow Bridge. However, far from being successful in the attempt, the hacker ended up losing 5 Ether, whose worth is around $8,000. If you wish to learn more about this interesting matter, then this article is the perfect stop for you. Keep reading the article to know in detail, the failed attempt of the hacker to exploit the bridge protocol.
What was The Incident?
In the Twitter thread, Alex stated that a hacker, trying to exploit the Rainbow Bridge, submitted a fake NEAR block to the Rainbow Bridge contract. In fact, the hacker also submitted the required safe deposit of 5 ETH. Moreover, the hacker planned the attempt on a Saturday, assuming that the team would be slow to respond on that day.
However, to the hacker’s surprise, there were active automated watchdogs on the system, aimed to fight off any malicious transaction. As a result, these watchdogs suppressed the hacking attempt within just 31 seconds. Moreover, adding to the agony of the failed hacker, the suppression of the attempt also resulted in the hacker losing the safe deposit of 5 ETH.
In fact, keeping in mind the rapid increase in hacking activities, the bridge protocol is becoming more active and efficient. In fact, the CEO stated that the team planned to increase the safety deposit, in an attempt to ward off hackers. However, their commitment to decentralisation has kept this plan at bay.
In fact, Alex also advised the hackers to use their skills in positive work like working on bug bounties. The Aurora Lab has recently paid a bug bounty of $6 million to an ethical security hacker, for pointing out a critical vulnerability. Therefore, his advice for the hackers seems to stem from his practical implementation of the same.
Concluding Lines
The fact that the hackers are increasingly targeting the bridge protocol, is a very true one. In fact, the Ronin Bridge hack, in the recent past has been a vital turning point for the market. The companies have now tightened their protocol to fight off any attempt of hacking. In fact, the recent misfortune of the hacker while attempting to exploit the Rainbow Bridge, shows that we can fight off hackers if action is taken quickly.
Also read: Edward Lu Speaks About The Bitcoin Miners And The Crypto Industry
