A hacker loses Ethereum worth $8,000 after independent watchdogs on the Aurora network flagged the attempted attack on the Near Rainbow Bridge platform.
Aurora labs claim that a hacker lost 5 Ethereum in a failed attack on the NEAR/ETH Rainbow bridge.
The attempted attack took place on August 22 but no user funds were lost.
The CEO of Aurora labs, Ale Shevchenko, reiterated that the attempted attack was not successful.
Near Rainbow Bridge
The Rainbow bridge represents an innovation by Aurora that allows users to transfer tokens between the NEAR, ETH and Aurora networks.
The platform acts on trustless assumptions with no selected middlemen. Rainbow bridge transfers messages or assets between chains.
Based on these aspects, fraudsters may acquire access to smart contracts. Such access may grant hackers power to manipulate systems and steal funds.
The bridge allows users to send ERC-20 assets directly from MetaMask. The platform also supports other web3 wallets. The transaction involves NEAR wallets and applications and other web3 wallets.
Due to the need for a consensus of NEAR validators, hackers cannot submit incorrect information. A consensus of NEAR validators protects against the potential loss of all funds on the bridge.
Independent watchdogs will flag any attempts to submit incorrect information. The independent watchdogs observe the NEAR blockchain.
The attempted attack
Shevchenko claimed that the hacker hoped that it would be complicated to react to the attack. However, automated watchdogs challenged the attempt within 31 seconds.
The attacker submitted a fabricated NEAR block to the Rainbow bridge. The submitted block required a so-called ‘safe deposit’ of 5ETH. The hacker successfully submitted the deposit to the Ethereum block on August 20.
After the watchdogs flagged the attempt, the attacker lost their 5ETH deposit. The deposit was capped at $8,000 at the time.
Afterward, the Aurora team checked that everything worked properly. The team acted immediately after the watchdogs flagged the attack. Aurora’s CEO said that the systems remain secure and users need not worry about their funds.
Hackerproof systems
The crypto world has recently experienced several cyber attacks and unfortunately many attacks siphoned billions of users assets. Developers from different blockchains and exchange platforms are working tirelessly to provide adequate security to users.
Apparently, the Rainbow bridge experienced a similar attack on May 1. Once again, the platform survived the attempted attack. The hackers aimed at siphoning user funds from the bridge.
Shevchenko praised the Aurora systems claiming that the systems are attack-proof. The CEO believes that the Aurora team constructed the architecture to resist such hacks. Shevchenko urged hackers and attackers to try the bug bounty instead of stealing user funds.
Aurora discarded plans to boost security by increasing the safe deposit. The move aimed at making the Rainbow bridge less decentralized. In addition, it also made the bridge more permissioned.
However, the protocol paid a $6 million bounty. Aurora paid the bounty to ethical hackers to help secure user funds.
Based on Aurora’s security features on its platforms, trust will be reinstalled in the crypto world. Thus this will act as a morale boost to other firms and platforms in the crypto space.
