The exchange is working with authorities to track down the hacker who blew up the BNB Smart Chain bridge earlier this month.
Binance seeks to identify the hacker behind the $570 million attack
CEO revealed that they work with the police to track down those responsible
The BSC network bridge suffered a massive hack in early October
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is getting closer to identifying the hacker who attacked the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) earlier this month to steal more than $500 million in digital assets. CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed the progress in the investigation during an interview with CNBC.
Zhao told reporters on CNBC's 'Squawk Box Europe' that the company has been working with authorities to find the hacker or group of malicious actors who blew up the BSC network's cross-chain bridge a few weeks ago. called BSC Token Hub, to mine millions of dollars.
Although he indicated that the exchange has not yet found the identity of the mysterious attacker, he assured that he is very close to being able to track him thanks to the work with the police.
“We continue to search…helping [authorities] go after bad players, working with law enforcement around the world,” Zhao said. "Working with law enforcement is one of the ways we can try to make space safe."
The massive attack on BNB Chain
The BNB Chain bridge earlier this month became the latest victim in a series of attacks on Blockchain bridges, also called cross-chain protocols. In a massive exploit, a hacker reportedly exploited a vulnerability in the BSC Token Hub to falsify "security tests" and withdraw some $570 million in tokens locked on the bridge.
Shortly after detecting suspicious activity on the network, BSC validators brought the network to a complete halt in a monumental effort to limit the damage. It should be noted that it is the largest hack recorded by the Binance blockchain ecosystem, made up of BNB Beacon Chain (BEP2) and BNB Smart Chain (BEP20 or BSC).
These actions to pause the network allowed between 80% and 90% of the stolen funds to be frozen, so the actual loss was less. The hacker was able to liquidate just under $100 million, while the "vast majority of the funds remain under control," the BNB Chain team said at the time.
BSC made an update to address the vulnerabilities that led to the attack. It also made other efforts to coordinate with the community on possible actions after the incident.
Meanwhile, blockchain bridges remain top targets for hackers. According to a report by Chainalysis, cross-chain protocols accounted for losses of $2 billion, or the equivalent of 69% of all funds stolen in the crypto space from the beginning of the year through August.