Whitehat" Hacker Behind $11.6M Prisma Finance Exploit Considers Fund Return
Summary:
The individual responsible for the $11.6 million strain on Prisma Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, claims it was a 'whitehat' hack with the intention of exposing security weaknesses rather than exploiting them. Despite this claim, the incident has led to a significant drop in Prisma Finance's total value within its protocol, and the hacker's actions continue to have repercussions in the DeFi industry.
The individual responsible for the recent $11.6 million strain on Prisma Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, asserts that this was in fact a “whitehat rescue," and is exploring the possibility of reinstating the funds, as revealed by on-chain messages. Approximately six hours following the incident on March 28, the individual involved issued a statement saying "Hi, this is a whitehat rescue, who can I contact to refund,” from a previously recognized address linked with the incident - "0x2d4…7507a.” The DeFi firm responded by providing a return contact email.
A white hat hacker or ethical hacker uses their skills to detect security weaknesses in software, going a step beyond and assisting in fixing the issue rather than exploiting it. Within cryptocurrencies, it's typical for hackers to exploit the protocol, following this up with a demand for a whitehat bounty for their immunity. However, there have also been instances where funds are voluntarily returned without any expectation of reward.
Prisma Finance confirmed the first batch of approved transactions at 11:29 am UTC on March 28, with an ongoing investigation concerning the originating cause of the attack. The blockchain security company PeckShield has reported an estimation of $11.6 million stolen and transferred to three distinct addresses.
Prisma Finance's engineering team acted swiftly halting the DeFi protocol after the perpetrator began to exchange the stolen funds for Ether (ETH), according to Cyvers, another blockchain security firm. Originally, Prisma Finance managed around $220 million in total value within its protocol, but the amount has seen a significant drop to $115 million, as reported by DeFiLlama.
In reaction to the news, Prisma Governance Token (PRISMA) took a hit of 30% bringing it down to $0.244, but later made a rebound to $0.289, as per CoinGecko. Prisma Finance was unavailable for immediate comment when Cointelegraph contacted them.
Despite ethical hacker intervention, cryptocurrency hacks have continued to hinder progress and growth within the DeFi industry. A total of over $200 million in cryptocurrencies have been exhausted due to hacks and rug pulls from 32 distinct incidents that occurred between the initial two months of 2024, reports Immunefi, a Web3 security firm. As a highlight, in 2023, a considerable $1.8 billion was lost to cryptocurrency hacks and fraudsters, with 17% of these losses associated directly to North Korea's Lazarus Group, reports Immunefi. ‘SEAL 911’, a team of white hats, was formed to combat crypto hacks in real time.
Published At
3/29/2024 5:35:21 AM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.