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Binance resumes BSC bridge operation after 2M BNB exploit Binance resumes BSC bridge operation after 2M BNB exploit

Binance resumes BSC bridge operation after 2M BNB exploit

The attacker leveraged a message verification vulnerability found in the BSC bridge to transfer 2 million BNB — roughly $590 million — into Venus protocol.

Binance resumes BSC bridge operation after 2M BNB exploit

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

The BNB Smart Chain resumed its operations shortly after an attacker drained 2 million BNB from the cross-chain bridge.

Binance announced the suspension of deposits and withdrawals from its BNB chain on Oct. 6, after a hacker transferred about 2 million BNB — roughly $590 million — to a Tether-blacklisted wallet.

BNB chain validators moved to upgrade their nodes and disabled native cross-chain communication. The upgrade was intended to stop the hacker from causing more harm.

In the early hours of Oct. 7, Binance announced that the BNB Smart Chain has resumed operations.

$568 million lost in BSC bridge hack

According to an on-chain investigation by Paradigm Research Analyst @samczsun, the attacker leveraged a message verification vulnerability found in the Binance bridge to send 2 million BNB (approx. $568 million) into Venus protocol.

According to security firm BlockSec, the BSC bridge hack now ranks third in a list of 11 cross-chain bridges that have lost a cumulative $2 billion since July 2021.

Security risk of cross-chain bridges

The growing list of bridge hacks brings to mind Vitalik Buterin’s argument against cross-chain bridges in a multi-chain future.

Vitalik argued that cross-chain bridges increase the security risks involved in transferring assets. Since assets have to be transferred across different blockchain security networks, chains become interdependent on one another.

Consequently, an attack against one chain could spread the contagion across other chains.

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Posted In: , Exchanges, Hacks