Alright folks, hold on to your hats because we have some juicy crypto theft! As stated at CoinTelegraph, on March 9th, some sneaky little thief managed to exploit the Smart Contract Service code of the mainnet on Hedera blockchain to swipe some Hedera Token Service (HTS) tokens from specific accounts on DEX and transfer them to his own account. In this article, we’re going to dive deep into this hack, how Hedera responded and gained digital asset security in a few hours, give you the low-down on how this blockchain works, and answer some burning questions about the project’s development and future prospects. 

What has led to the theft of several liquidity pool tokens?

Well, well, well, looks like some sneaky little hackers managed to pull off a heist on Hedera’s mainnet. They exploited the Smart Contract Service code to transfer tokens from victims’ accounts to their own. And how did they do it? By targeting accounts used as liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges using Uniswap v2-derived contract code ported over to use Hedera Token Service. 

But don’t worry, guys, several decentralized platforms had immediately flagged suspicious activity. The Hedera Token Service and Hedera Consensus Service were affected, but the team’s worked hard to get things sorted.

The attackers failed to move their funds off Hedera since they no longer had access to paused Hashport tokens. And their exit plan to Ethereum was also a bust, thanks to the teams’ joint efforts. Finally, they tried to move their funds to ChangeNow.io and Godex.io. But the Hedera Council members were on the case. They had worked on a solution to remove the vulnerability and get things back to normal.

How many tokens were stolen?

As far as the Hedera team knows, the following tokens were swiped by the attackers across multiple accounts/DEXs before they were stopped.

DAI Stablecoin: 1,001 DAI

Tether USD: 66,997 USDT

USD Coin: 287,998 USDC

Wrapped HBAR: 3,630,000 WHBAR 

During the attack, the DevOps crew made a game-time decision to disable the proxy, which prevented the mainnet exploit from illegally gaining privileges to tokens controlled by smart contracts. That move limited the damages to around $600K and managed to stop the baddies before they could do more harm. 

Has Hedera succeeded in stopping suspicious activity on the Hashport bridge?

So apparently, Hedera had a little oopsie in their blockchain security system when some shady characters used the Smart Contract Service code of the protocol’s main network to transfer Hedera Token Service tokens stored in victim accounts to their own wallets. Looks like the suspicious activity wasn’t caught at the Hashport bridge, eh? But the Hedera team identified the root cause of the problem and got their act together to fix it.

The open-source software support team over at Hedera worked their tails off to come up with a solution within 13 hours of discovering the vulnerability. The main network’s proxy servers were shut down to prevent further thievery, and the team deployed the updated code to the main network to patch the vulnerability.

Subsequently, node operators signed off on the transactions to update the network’s codebase, and the main network update was completed 41 hours after the initial attack was detected.

What is the price of the Hedera network token?

So, it looks like a bunch of token holders actually had some sense and were quick to pull their funds out when they heard about the potential mainnet exploit. That’s probably why the total value locked (TVL) took a more than 16% hitover just 24 hours during the attack. And as for Hedera’s native token, HBAR? Oof, it’s taken a 7% dive and was trading at a pathetic $0.057.

But, hey, as of the time of writing this, the price has managed to crawl back up to its pre-attack levels and is now at $0.065, according to CoinMarketCap. 

What network is Hedera Hashgraph on?

Let me break it down for you. Hedera Hashgraph ain’t your average run-of-the-mill network. It’s a decentralized, peer-to-peer network based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) that stands on its own two feet without relying on any other blockchain or network. And let me tell you, it’s fast, secure, and scalable enough to handle thousands of transactions per second. It’s a hot spot for building decentralized applications and services, and they even have their own cryptocurrency, HBAR, that you can use to pay for transaction fees and other services on the network.

FAQ

So you want to know more about Hedera Hashgraph, eh? Well, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got all the answers to your burning questions in our FAQ section. And don’t worry if you’re not a blockchain expert or a tech whiz. We’ve got explanations that anyone can understand.

Is Hedera built on Ethereum?

If you’re thinking that Ethereum and Hedera are just two peas in a pod, then you’re wrong, my friend. Sure, they’re both blockchain networks, but they’re like apples and oranges, they just can’t be compared that easily.

One of the biggest differences between them is that Hedera is a standalone public network that uses its own consensus algorithm, Hashgraph, while Ethereum relies on good ol’ Proof-of-Work (PoW) to achieve consensus.

Hedera and Ethereum are two different beasts with their own unique designs, consensus mechanisms, and governance structures. So, don’t go comparing apples to oranges, folks!

Will Hedera reach $1?

As much as I’d love to be a psychic and predict the future, I’m afraid I can’t do that for your investments, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency security. The price of HBAR, just like any other crypto, is a wild ride that can be influenced by everything from how many people are using it to what mood the market is in. So before you go throwing all your money into HBAR or any other crypto, do yourself a favor and do your own research, or better yet, talk to a financial advisor who can help you make informed decisions.

Is Hedera better than Ethereum?

Let me break it down for you in a way that even your grandma can understand. When it comes to scalability, Hedera beats Ethereum hands down. Hedera can process thousands of transactions per second, making Ethereum look like it’s stuck in the Stone Age. However, Ethereum has a bigger developer community and ecosystem, resulting in a wider range of decentralized applications and smart contracts being built on its network. In other words, Hedera is the flashy new kid on the block, while Ethereum is the established heavyweight champion that’s been around the block a few times.

Does Hedera have a future?

Well, it’s not like we can look into a crystal ball and predict the future of any cryptocurrency or blockchain network, including Hedera. The success of Hedera, like all other projects in this space, depends on a multitude of factors, such as market adoption, competition, regulatory changes, and overall market sentiment.

However, as a public network, Hedera does have a fighting chance in this crazy crypto world, as long as it continues to attract users and developers to build on its platform and can offer some sweet value propositions compared to other blockchain networks.

Is Hedera truly decentralized?

Hedera is all about decentralization, but with a twist! The network has a governing council made up of a bunch of corporate bigwigs like Boeing, IBM, and Ubisoft, who get to make decisions about the network’s development and governance. It’s like a fancy country club, but instead of playing golf, they get to play with the future of blockchain technology.

Each council member has an equal say in the decision-making process, which is a pretty neat way to make sure nobody feels left out. But don’t let that fool you – this isn’t some socialist utopia where everyone gets the same slice of pie. One thing to note is that the council members have limited terms and don’t get any direct profits from Hedera.