Harmony Blockchain bridge loses $100 mn in crypto to hackers after an attack

Harmony, the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge, has informed its cyber-security partners as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the attack

The stolen tokens have been swapped for Ethereum using decentralized exchanges

Hackers have stolen at least $100 million worth of digital tokens from Harmony, the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge which allows users to transfer their crypto assets from one Blockchain to another.

Harmony admitted that a malicious attack happened on its proprietary Horizon Ethereum Bridge and multiple transactions occurred that compromised the bridge, with 11 transactions that extracted tokens stored in it.

“The estimated value at the time of the attack was approximately $100 million (sic),” the US-based company said in a statement late on Friday.

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The start-up said that it had notified its cyber-security partners and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and requested to assist with an investigation in identifying the culprit and methods to retrieve stolen assets.

“We are working around the clock to ensure both the investigation and recovery of stolen funds are concluded in the most time-efficient manner possible (sic),” the company added. The hackers stole various digital tokens like Ethereum, Binance Coin, Tether, USD Coin and Dai.

The stolen tokens have been swapped for Ethereum using decentralised exchanges, according to Blockchain analysis company Elliptic. Harmony has stopped the Horizon bridge to prevent further transactions and its bridge for Bitcoin was unaffected.

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In April this year, hackers stole nearly $180 million in cryptocurrency from Beanstalk Farms, a decentralised finance (De-Fi) project. The FBI in April blamed the North Korean hacker group, Lazarus, for stealing $625 million in cryptocurrency from the Ronin Network, owned by developer group Sky Mavis. In January this year, hackers stole crypto tokens worth $120 million from the Blockchain-based decentralised finance (DeFi) platform BadgerDAO.

Harmony said that focusing on decentralised bridges is an essential step forward for Web3.0.

Using Harmony’s Horizon bridge, users can move assets like tokens, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) between Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Harmony blockchains.