Unknown hackers managed to breach the Orbit Bridge, a service that bridges the Orbit Chain chains, and stole a staggering $82 million just three hours before the New Year. This devastating security breach was brought to attention in a message dated December 31 by a pseudonymous user known as KGJR, who highlighted a potential vulnerability in the system. The suspicion of a vulnerability was further supported by reports from Officer CIA and cybersecurity company Cyvers.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the hackers successfully stole a total of $81.68 million in five separate transactions. The stolen funds included $30 million in Tether (USDT), $10 million in USDCoin (USDC), 9,500 broadcasts of Ethereum (ETH), 231 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and $10 million in an algorithmic stablecoin called DAI.
In a recent tweet, Orbit Chain confirmed the hacking of its protocol and referred to it as an “unidentified access” to the bridge. The company assured the public that it is actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies to identify the attacker and thoroughly analyze the root cause of the attack.
It is believed that the Orbit Chain protocol has a strong connection with the Klaytn (Klay) network, which is a modular chain of first-level blocks. According to Block Explorer, the Orbit Bridge is among the top eight largest assets on the Klaytn network in terms of market capitalization.
Orbit Chain, launched in South Korea in 2018, is a versatile blockchain platform primarily focused on facilitating cross-chain transactions between different decentralized networks. It is commonly used for transferring assets between networks that are compatible with EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) and Klaytn.
It is important to note that Orbit Chain is an independent entity and should not be confused with the protocol of the cross-chain bridges provided by Orbiter Finance, despite the similarity in their names.
The exact nature of the vulnerability that led to this significant security breach remains unknown and under investigation.