More than $80 million stolen in Orbit chain exploit, assets ‘remain immobile’

The cross-chain bridge project, Orbit Chain, was hit by a “cyberattack” on Monday, draining more than $80 million from the bridge.

Following an “unknown access” to Orbit Bridge, the project revealed that approximately $84.5 million was found in multiple wallet addresses belonging to the attacker. The stolen funds totaled 26,741.6 ETH held at five addresses (an estimated value of $64.5 million at current prices), with a value of just under $20 million. A stable coin DAI was held at three other addresses.

The stolen funds “remain unmoved,” Orbit Chain said in a tweet, adding that the group is “continually monitoring” the assets, is in “close contact” with law enforcement agencies, and is trying to track down the attacker.

Orbit Chain, which said it would use “all available methods” to recover the money, said it had “set up an investigative support and causal analysis system” with South Korea's National Police Agency and the Internet and Security Agency (KISA).

The firm also asked crypto exchanges to stop the stolen assets and in cooperation with blockchain security firm Theori, and others, to help “track money in real time.” In response to a request from Orbit Chain, security firm Chainlight reported that it was conducting a “comprehensive analysis” of the exploit.

Orbit Chain has yet to publish a full report on how the exploit was carried out. Decrypt has reached out to Orbit Chain, Theory, and ChainLight for comment, and will update this article if they respond.

Orbit Chain responded to the group's tweet about possible North Korean hackers, saying it “happened too.” North Korea has been accused of stealing more than $3.4 billion worth of crypto in a series of hacks over the years, including many of the biggest crypto hacks of 2023.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren says North Korea has used stolen crypto to pay for half of its nuclear weapons program, calling for the Bank Secrecy Act to be updated for the “threat” posed by crypto.

According to Orbit Chain, the initial ETH used in the attack came through crypto mixer Tornado Cash. Coin mixer The state-backed North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for its role in laundering “more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency,” including the stolen funds.