The attackers took advantage of a defect in the protocol’s codebase to extract 277 pBTC tokens from wrapped Bitcoin. The platform has already corrected the error.
An unidentified hacker or group of hackers took advantage of a flaw in the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, pNetwork, to extract nearly $ 12 million worth of wrapped Bitcoin.
The team at pNetwork, a DeFi protocol that activates interoperability between blockchains, highlighted the attack on Sunday via their Twitter account. The project reportedly lost a total of 277 wrapped bitcoins ($ 12 million at press time) after an attacker found a bug in its code.
The hacker aimed at the pBTC token, a version of Bitcoin wrapped in the pNetwork ecosystem; the token focuses on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network. The platform revealed this information in a tweet thread.
Wrapped Bitcoin is a token on a smart contract blockchain that receives support from an equivalent amount to Bitcoin so Bitcoin can work in DeFi protocols. The pBTC exists on various blockchains, including Ethereum and BSC, to improve its performance.
Protocol Offers Hacker Reward
pNetwork did not give further details on how the attack happened but stated that the hacker took advantage of a bug in its codebase to extract the funds.
They also added that the other bridges did not receive harm. In the same thread of tweets, they assured that the rest of the funds deposited on the platform are under protection.
According to the pNetwork website, there is over $ 190 million in cryptocurrencies currently locked in the protocol’s cross-chain bridges.
Shortly after the attack report arrived at the media, pNetwork developers stated they had identified the bug and had a proposal to meet a solution.
The protocol team updated the information on Monday to highlight that the error in the code has already been fixed and that they are conducting a comprehensive review of the other bridges to correct similar vulnerabilities.
Via Twitter, pNetwork also indicated that it would offer a bug bounty of $ 1.5 million to the attacker if he returns the stolen funds. Whether the attacker responded to this offer or not, remains unclear to the date.
Another Attack for DeFi
The attack on the platform affected the price of pNetwork’s PNT governance token, which runs on the Binance Smart Chain.
According to data from Coinmarketcap, PNT has fallen more than 22% in the last 24 hours. It is vital to consider that the token’s crash coincides with a generalized downward trend for the crypto market of almost 11% in the last hours.
The developer assured users that they are currently working on a solution for users who received damage during the attack.
pNetwork is one of the latest victims of hacking attacks within the DeFi ecosystem. This year decentralized finance platforms have been the target of hacks and theft, although, in some instances, protocols have been lucky, and the hackers have returned the funds.
On the other hand, an exploit to Zabu Finance, the first attack on an Avalanche-based DeFi. According to CipherTrace, DeFi-related attacks have reached 270% this year, generating losses of around $ 474 million to users.
By: Jenson Nuñez
