Over $86M drained after HTX Global's HECO Bridge security breach

• Over $186 Million drained in a HECO Bridge-related hack.
• The HECO Bridge is a crucial link for transferring funds between Ethereum and the Heco Chain.
• Projects associated with blockchain entrepreneur Justin Sun are facing ongoing hacking challenges.

In a recent development, the HECO chain bridge, built by the HTX Global exchange has fallen victim to a major security breach, resulting in the unauthorized transfer of over $86 million.

On-chain security platform Cyvers Alerts identified the movement of funds, pointing to a potential exploit in the HECO chain.

🚨Code Red!🚨 (Ongoing)Our AI powered system has detected multiple suspicious transactions from @HECO_Chain bridge

Suspicious address has received around $85M. Suspicious address: https://t.co/JlMClIM7hg

First transaction is 10,145 $ETH from @HECO_Chain bridge to suspicious… pic.twitter.com/IwpqXvhCsU

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) November 22, 2023

HECO Chain Bridge exploit

According to Cyvers Alerts, suspicious addresses received more than $85 million from the HECO chain bridge, indicating a significant exploit.

The HECO Bridge is utilized for transferring funds between Ethereum and the Heco Chain. 

Wintermute Head of Research Igor Igamberdiev estimates the breach loss at $86.6 million.

Blockchain analysts PeckShield suspect the possibility of an exploit or rug pull, as the stolen funds were swiftly sent to decentralized exchanges and converted into other tokens. This exploit follows the recent trend of security vulnerabilities in blockchain projects related to Justin Sun.

Our initial analysis indicates the suspicious $86.6m outflow from @HECO_Chain #bridge was from a compromised operator, which was operational since 2022-10-08:

Will this be connected w/ earlier $125m @Poloniex incident?

Example outflow tx: https://t.co/IhN9PW797v
Operator:… https://t.co/wRIZoYTMus pic.twitter.com/hnGfnsN7sa

— PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) November 22, 2023

Trail of hacks on Justin Sun-linked projects 

In 2022, Sun merged the TRON and BitTorrent bridge ecosystem with HECO. However, the ecosystem now faces significant hacking issues. Notably, the Poloniex exchange, linked to Sun’s projects, recently suffered a $117 million hack, while the HTX exchange, another Sun-affiliated platform, experienced an $8 million hack.

As investigations unfold, concerns are mounting over the security of the HECO chain and its associated projects. Users and investors are urged to exercise caution as the crypto community awaits further details and actions to mitigate the impact of this substantial security breach.