Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected

How hackers take advantage of the 'Bridge' problem

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 3 Apr 2022 14:57
3 Min Read

Hackers stole $540 million worth of Etherum and USDC stabelcoin this week, according to cryptocurrency network Ronin. 

  • x
  • Why hackers take advantage of the
    How hackers take advantage of the "Bridge" problem

Hackers stole $540 million worth of Etherum and USDC stabelcoin this week, according to cryptocurrency network Ronin. 

The theft is one of the largest in bitcoin history, and hackers stole from a service called the Ronin Bridge. Successful assaults against "blockchain bridges" have become increasingly common in recent years, and the situation with Ronin is a stark reminder of the problem's severity.

Blockchain bridges, often referred to as network bridges, are methods that enable users to transfer digital assets from one blockchain to another. Because cryptocurrencies are often walled and incompatible—you can't make a transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain using Dogecoins—"bridges" have emerged as a critical tool, if not a missing link, in the cryptocurrency economy.

Bridge services "wrap" cryptocurrencies in order to convert them from one form of coin to another. As a result, if you go to a bridge to utilize another currency, such as Bitcoin (BTC), the bridge will spit out wrapped bitcoins (WBTC). It functions similarly to a gift card or a check in that it represents stored value in a flexible alternate format. Bridges require a cryptocurrency coin reserve to underwrite all of those wrapped coins, and that hoard is a prime target for hackers.

Related News

Artists sound alarm with NFT crimes on the rise

NFT Art Available for Free on 'Piracy' Website

James Prestwich, who studies and develops cross-chain communication protocols, stated that “any capital on-chain is subject to attack 24/7/365, so bridges will always be a popular target,” adding that "Bridges will continue to grow because people will always want the opportunity to join new ecosystems. Over time, we’ll professionalize, develop best practices, and there will be more people capable of building and analyzing bridge code. Bridges are new enough that there are very few experts.”

In addition to the Ronin theft, hackers took around $80 million in bitcoin from Qubit Bridge at the end of January, approximately $320 million from Wormhole Bridge at the beginning of February, and $4.2 million from Meter.io Bridge a few days later. Last August, the Poly Network bridge had $611 million in cryptocurrency stolen from it before the attacker returned the funds a few days later. All of these attacks used software weaknesses to siphon cash, but the Ronin Bridge assault had a unique flaw.

Ronin was developed by the Vietnamese company Sky Mavis, which develops the popular NFT-based video game Axie Infinity. In this specific bridge hack, hackers used social engineering and tricked their way into accessing the private encryption keys to verify transactions. The keys were set up in a less than rigorous manner, which made their withdrawals successful.

In its statement regarding the incident, Ronin stated that the company is "not immune to exploitation, and this attack has reinforced the importance of prioritizing security, remaining vigilant, and mitigating all threats."

The breach was discovered the same day, but "validator nodes" were compromised on March 23. 173,600 Ethereum and 25.5 million USDC were stolen. Ronin Bridge has been out of service since with users unable to perform transactions.

  • Blockchain
  • Hacking
  • hackers

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Israeli police and rescue teams respond at the scene of a shooting attack where several people killed and injured in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 (AP)

Al-Quds shooting: 7 settlers killed, several critically injured

  • Politics
  • 8 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

Pro-'Israel' far-right Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' stops unfunded diplomacy ahead of UN, October 7 memorial

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares over the Gaza Strip, is seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

OIC summit draft: Israeli attack on Qatar risks normalization

People shout slogans and hold Palestinian flags while protesting during the twenty-first stage of La Vuelta cycling race from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP)
Sports

Pro-Palestine protests force abrupt end to Vuelta a España finale

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime faces growing isolation over Qatar strike: Reports

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS