After a hiatus of seven months, the notorious hacker who targeted the Kyber Network has reemerged, causing a fresh wave of concern in the cryptocurrency industry. On October 22, 2024, the hacker initiated a new transaction, utilizing Tornado Cash to launder 2,200 ETH, equivalent to approximately $5.83 million.
The individual responsible for the attack on the Kyber Network, which occurred in November 2023, has resurfaced. This hacker managed to steal a staggering $48.3 million in various cryptocurrencies, including assets from Arbitrum, Optimism, Ethereum, Polygon, Base, and other networks.
Following the initial hack, the perpetrator remained dormant for several months, leaving a significant portion of the stolen funds untouched. However, on October 22, 2024, blockchain analysts detected a substantial movement of funds from the hacker’s wallet.
In this latest move, the hacker used Tornado Cash to wash 2,200 ETH. Tornado Cash is a platform designed to obscure the sender and receiver of transactions. With this latest transaction, the total amount of laundered ETH now stands at 7,200 ETH, equivalent to $17.23 million. This means that the hacker has managed to clear approximately 15% of the stolen assets. However, there are still 12,306 ETH, worth $32.2 million, untouched by the hacker, distributed across 16 different wallets, as reported by Spot On Chain.
The security of DeFi platforms has become a growing concern, with the Kyber Network hack being just one example of a series of DeFi breaches. Despite the existence of mixing services like Tornado Cash, which aim to prevent the tracing of stolen funds, doubts are arising regarding the effectiveness of current blockchain security solutions.
For Kyber Network, the return of the hacker is cause for worry, as the stolen assets still pose a significant threat. Although a portion of the funds has been laundered, the remaining amount remains at large, representing an ongoing menace to the platform and the DeFi community as a whole.
As the hack unfolds, the hacker continues to steal and transfer funds, while the crypto community closely monitors the blockchain for any further movements. Although traditional investigative measures may not always be sufficient, especially when the attacker can leverage tools like Tornado Cash, experts in the crypto community are diligently observing the situation.