Arkham Data CrossChain Bridge Orbit Chain Hacker Successfully Transfers 48M to Tornado Cash

Cross-Chain Bridge Orbit Chain Hacker Successfully Transfers $48M to Tornado Cash: Arkham Data


By Sujha Sundararajan
Published on:
June 10, 2024 03:01 EDT
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Reading Time: 1 min


Orbit Chain, a platform that facilitates transactions across different blockchains, fell victim to a cyber attack in the final hours of 2023, resulting in a loss of $82 million. Recent reports indicate that the hacker group responsible has now moved $48 million of the stolen funds to the Tornado Cash mixer.
According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the perpetrators behind the Orbit Chain breach have resurfaced after months of inactivity. “In the last hour, the Orbit Chain Exploiter has transferred 8671 ETH ($32M) to a new address and is currently in the process of depositing it into Tornado Cash,” the latest update states.
Arkham’s analysis suggests that the hackers initially stole over $100 million in ETH and DAI from Orbit Chain five months ago. “They still possess over $66M in ETH and over $20M in DAI and USDT,” Arkham reported.
The exploiter has moved a total of 12,932 Ether (ETH) valued at $48 million in the span of two days, across seven transactions. Additionally, data from Etherscan reveals that the ETH was sent to Tornado Cash in increments of 100 ETH per transaction.
Insights into the Orbit Chain Exploit
On the final day of 2023, cybercriminals siphoned off millions in various assets, potentially through compromised private keys. While theories abound, including the possibility of an ETH validator code exploit, the protocol’s use of multisig wallets to safeguard assets did not prevent the attack on assets like ETH, USDT, DAI, USDC, and WBTC.
Following the breach, speculation arose linking the attack to the notorious Lazarus Group from North Korea. Analysts from Match Systems noted similarities between the tactics employed by the Orbit Chain hackers and those in other high-profile attacks attributed to the Lazarus Group.
Metamask developer Taylor Monahan also drew parallels between the Orbit attack and previous Lazarus Group hacks, suggesting a troubling trend for 2024. “Looks like 2024 is going to be another year of handing DPRK billions of dollars on a silver platter,” Monahan commented on X at the time.
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