The recent attach on decentralized peer-to-peer network, Mixin Network, orchestrated through a third-party cloud service provider’s database had the crypto community bemused. Cryptocurrency worth roughly $200 million was siphoned off the mainnet; this act led to an immediate suspension of withdrawals and deposits. What this tells us is the dilemma facing blockchain technology, with its exceptional potential for providing transparency, speed, and security yet it still appears fallible.
Look at the facts. The cyber theft reportedly occurred two days before it was discovered and reported by Mixin Network. On securing Google and blockchain investigator SlowMist’s services to investigate the hack, Mixin Network made a startling discovery. At the time of the breach, it held $94.48 million in Ether, $23.55 million in DAI, and $23.3 million in Bitcoin, according to a separate probe by PeckShield. The cumulative portfolio amounted to $141.32 million, a staggering figure in its right.
The universal question is when will the services of the company, including deposits and withdrawals, resume? As the assurance goes, financial operations will recommence once the vulnerabilities have been affirmed and corrected. Meanwhile, their strategy for Asset recovery and customer reimbursement remain undisclosed. While skepticism breeds, it also opens the floor for exploring the underlying issues surrounding blockchain technology.
It takes one back to the recent SIM swap attack that targeted the co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. Such attacks aim at seizing control of the victim’s mobile number and leverage two-factor authentication (2FA) to gain access to social media, bank, and crypto accounts. However, there is an innate complexity attached to these instances. Here we see a tug of war between the potential of blockchain technology and its possible vulnerability to scams, hacking, and phishing attacks.
The dilapidated state of Mixin Network, for instance, refers to an industry that is in desperate need of fortifying its security. While blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has opened new avenues and revolutionized digital transactions, its susceptibility to breaches also needs to be reckoned with. Hence, as blockchain marches forward, it must develop stronger and impenetrable defenses against these cyber threats, maintaining and further bolstering trust in this revolutionary technology.
Source: Cointelegraph
