Hackers Steal $11.5 Million from Verus Protocol

Verus Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, has experienced a significant breach, resulting in the loss of approximately $11.5 million. The attack targeted its bridge connecting to Ethereum, as confirmed by cybersecurity firms Blockaid, PeckShield, and GoPlus.

Details from PeckShield indicate that the hacker siphoned off 103.6 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC, subsequently converting these assets into 5,402 ETH, which is still held in the attacker's wallet.

Remarkably, the perpetrator secured transaction fees using Tornado Cash just 14 hours prior to executing the breach. Experts from GoPlus noted that the attack likely stemmed from a flaw in the withdrawal processes or a method for circumventing cross-network message verification.

The Verus-Ethereum bridge, introduced in October 2023, has now become another victim in a year plagued by similar security incidents, with losses in the DeFi sector exceeding $7.7 billion. The rise in attacks on cross-chain bridges has accounted for over $3.2 billion of these losses, accentuating the vulnerabilities present in the decentralized finance ecosystem.

As of now, Verus developers have not publicly addressed the incident. This breach follows a trend of increasing security concerns in DeFi, with notable hacks such as the recent $10 million theft from THORChain and a previous large-scale attack on Kelp DAO.