Following the Multichain hack, the cross-chain protocol reported an update stating that a whitehat hacker returned 259 ETH.
Users of the cross-chain protocol have expressed their dissatisfaction with the platform’s response to an unsolved security issue that surfaced earlier in the week. However, Multichain later claimed that one whitehat hacker had returned 259 ETH worth $813,000.
The Multichain six-token attack
It all began when Multichain revealed the presence of a bug that exposed many accounts to malevolent actors. To protect their assets, the protocol’s creators advised users to revoke authorization for six tokens: WETH, PERI, OMT, WBNB, MATIC, and AVAX. This step inevitably caused hackers to rush in and exploit the flaw.
According to Multichain, three hackers made off with $1.9 million worth of Ether. However, Tal Be’ery, co-founder of ZenGo, estimates that the total money taken has likely exceeded $3 million.
Users who forgot to update their approvals were robbed of $1.43 million by one of the hackers. Another hacker offered to return 80% of the money in exchange for a $150,000 tip. Seeing this, one of the victims, who lost $960,000 as a result of the attack, struck a deal with the hacker, paying a bounty of 50 ETH to the address in exchange for the monies.
Users were perplexed after Multichain claimed that “funds are safe” even while the exploit was active in a since-deleted tweet. Several victims demanded compensation from Multichain, accusing the scammers of attempting to impersonate the company in order to steal more user cash. DeFi security firm Dedaub was the first to report the flaw, although Multichain claimed to have fixed it.
The Crypto.com hack
The latest intrusion follows CryptoCom’s admission on January 17th of a vulnerability in which hackers stole more than $30 million. After a spate of complaints from consumers who claimed their funds had vanished, CryptoCom declared that withdrawals would be suspended. After being repeatedly accused of imprecise communication, the firm didn’t formally recognize the incident until Thursday.
