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Cryptocurrency startup Nomad, which bills itself as a “secured cross-chain messaging” service, has lost over $190 million to hackers and is now offering a 10% bounty to return stolen funds.
The Attack
It’s been a tough few weeks for Nomad. First, the cryptocurrency company lost $190 million to hackers from the attack last August 1. Hackers were able to breach their bridge and went away with $190 million worth of funds.
The attack was described as a “free-for-all” attack, meaning that anyone with an internet connection and sufficient knowledge could have taken part in it.
“This is why the hack was so chaotic – you didn’t need to know about Solidity or Merkle Trees or anything like that. All you had to do was find a transaction that worked, find/replace the other person’s address with yours, and then re-broadcast it,” said Samczsun, white-hat hacker and security researcher in Ethereum, in his Twitter thread, explaining the Nomad attack.
The Bounty
To get the stolen funds back, Nomad is now offering a 10% bounty for their return. That means that if the hackers return the stolen funds, they’ll get to keep 10% of them.
Moreover, Nomad announced that those who return the stolen funds will be free from any criminal liability as they will be dubbed “White Hat Hackers.” White Hat Hackers are ethical hackers who use their hacking skills to improve computer security rather than cause harm.
The company is now working with TRM Labs and law enforcement and security experts to track down the hackers who will not be returning the funds.
It’s a bold move by Nomad, and it could pay off if the hackers decide to return the stolen funds. But it’s also risky, as it could incentivise more attacks on the company in the future.
Going Forward
This is not the first time hackers have targeted cryptocurrency startups; it will not be the last. However, the size of the bounty offered by Nomad is unprecedented and underscores the seriousness of the situation.
Only time will tell if Nomad’s bounty offer will be successful, but one thing is for sure: The company is in for a long and challenging road ahead.
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