Ethereum Swapos Theft: $205,600 Worth of ETH Transferred to Tornado Cash

According to reports, according to CertiK monitoring, the EOA address 0x73d8c associated with the April 19 Swapos theft incident transferred 110 ETHs (approximately $205600) to Tornado Cash.

Swapos theft incident associated address transferred 110 ETHs to Tornado Cash

On April 19, 2021, Swapos – a Binance Smart Chain decentralized exchange – faced a cyber attack. The attackers managed to steal roughly $1,000,000 worth of digital assets from Swapos. The attack was a result of a security flaw in the code of the exchange. The CertiK team, which is responsible for auditing and monitoring of blockchain security, discovered and reported the attack. According to CertiK’s monitoring, the hacker’s Ethereum EOA address 0x73d8c has recently transferred 110 ETHs (approximately $205,600) to Tornado Cash.

Overview of the Swapos Hack

Swapos is a relatively new, upcoming decentralized exchange on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The platform allows users to trade pairs of Binance Chain (BEP-20) and Ethereum (ERC-20) tokens. However, on April 19, the exchange was targeted by hackers. The attackers exploited a bug in Swapos’ smart contract code to extract digital assets from the exchange’s liquidity pool. The hackers then quickly dumped the stolen tokens, causing a sudden price drop.
CertiK, a blockchain security firm, was responsible for auditing and monitoring the code of Swapos and quickly raised the alarm about the attack. The Swapos team promptly responded by suspending trading, withdrawals, and deposits to mitigate any further attacks. The exchange released a statement that the hackers only managed to steal 50% of the total digital assets in the liquidity pool. The remaining 50% of the assets were transferred to a new, secure liquidity pool created by Swapos.

The Recent Transfer of 110 ETHs to Tornado Cash

According to reports from CertiK, the hacker behind the Swapos cyber attack recently moved the stolen Ethereum funds to an Ethereum mixing service, Tornado Cash. The hacker transferred 110 ETHs (approximately $205,600) to the Tornado Cash pool to hide their tracks and avoid detection by law enforcement agencies.
Tornado Cash is a digital asset mixing service that uses zero-knowledge proofs to make transactions anonymous. By using Tornado Cash, the hacker can effectively hide the origin and destination of the stolen funds, making it difficult to trace the movement of the funds.

Understanding the Implications of the Swapos Hack

The Swapos hack highlights the significant cyber attack risks that decentralized exchanges face. The attack has affected users’ confidence in Swapos. Several users have taken to social media to criticize the security measures of the exchange. The incident also shows the importance of regular security audits and monitoring by third-party firms like CertiK to identify vulnerabilities in the code of decentralized protocols.
The recent transfer of stolen funds to Tornado Cash has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of digital asset mixing services. While these platforms enable anonymous transactions, they also facilitate money laundering and criminal activities.

Conclusion

The Swapos hack is another reminder of the importance of security in the blockchain industry. Decentralized exchanges must be proactive in identifying and addressing potential security issues in their code to protect users’ funds. The attackers behind the Swapos incident may have transferred the stolen funds to Tornado Cash to avoid detection, but the blockchain community should work together to ensure that cybercriminals cannot use digital asset mixing services to hide their tracks.

Frequently Asked Questions

**Q. How much funds did the hackers steal from Swapos?**
A. According to Swapos, the attackers stole around 50% of the total digital assets in the liquidity pool, worth roughly $1 million.
**Q. What is Tornado Cash?**
A. Tornado Cash is a digital asset mixing service that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable anonymous transactions.
**Q. How can decentralized exchanges prevent cyber attacks?**
A. Decentralized exchanges should conduct regular security audits and monitor their systems for vulnerabilities. They should also ensure that their smart contracts are secure and that their management systems are transparent.