- $2.3 million hack
- Asset recovery uncertain
According to a recent update published by Shiba Inu developer Kaal Dhairya, Shibarium operations remain restricted following a damning hack that took place earlier this month. This means that users cannot move assets back to Ethereum.
The team is yet to confirm when exactly the bridge is going to be reopened since it prioritizes safety and verification.
Dhairya has clarified that updates will be published via official channels. So far, the team is deliberately avoiding publishing specific details in order not to play into the hands of the attackers.
$2.3 million hack
On Sept 12, blockchain security firm PeckShield detected a likely Shibarium compromise, which was later confirmed by the Shiba Inu team following an investigation.
The attacker managed to artificially boost their in order to gain influence over validators and submit fraudulent exit requests.
The vast majority of validators (10 out of 12) got compromised, with their keys being used for approving malicious transactions.
The hacker tricked the bridge into withdrawing roughly $2.3 million worth of assets, including ETH, SHIB, and ROAR.
Asset recovery uncertain
Dhairya has also stated that the team is yet to finalize plans for asset recovery. So far, the team is primarily focused on “containment” in order to prevent further losses. Developers are also working on “hardening” the system to make sure that such an attack will not happen again.
A redemption plan will be shared with users once all security issues are solved.
If the team does not manage to recover the stolen funds via investigations or bounties, they will look into such backup options as taking funds from the treasury, burning tokens, and using an insurance fund.
A potential solution will have to undergo a community review before being implemented.