In 2022, a security breach at the Wormhole bridge saw a thief steal $320 million. The thief also had the potential to receive an additional $50,000 via an airdrop of the newly launched Wormhole tokens (W). However, the airdrop was stopped quickly, saving the company from further financial loss.
The breach triggered concern among users about the system’s security measures. Since then, the Wormhole team has enhanced its security protocols to protect users’ assets and retain their trust. A team of cybersecurity experts is also investigating the incident to apprehend the thief and prevent future breaches.
Cryptic researcher Pland discovered that the Wormhole team had neglected some wallet addresses linked to the breach during the airdrop.
Strengthening cybersecurity after $320 million Wormhole breach
The oversight allowed four wallet addresses tied to the breach to be briefly eligible for the airdrop, thereby adding to their illicit gains. Subsequent analysis, however, uncovered that these wallets could no longer collect the airdrop, sparking speculations that the Wormhole team had rectified the error.
The addresses were linked to the 2022 Wormhole hack, a massive breach that resulted in a loss of $321 million, marking one of the largest thefts of the crypto era. Raw data from Solana’s block explorer, Solana.fm, was used to track these addresses back to the attack.
In February 2023, Jump Crypto and Oasis.app performed a “counter-exploit” and successfully recovered $225 million of the stolen digital assets, subsequently moving them to secure wallets.
Recently, Wormhole announced to their intention to distribute $850 million worth of Wormhole (W) tokens to eligible participants based on current market prices.
A professional team of white hat hackers called ‘SEAL 911’ has been assigned to protect against live cryptocurrency hacks. Given increasing cybersecurity threats, their role in safeguarding digital currencies is significant. Their continual vigilance and commitment to maintaining cybersecurity offer renewed confidence in cryptocurrency transactions and storage.
