Poly Network Thanks ‘White Hat’ Hacker/Hackers With $500K Reward

Cryptocurrency platform Poly Network on Friday (Aug. 13) thanked the so-called “white hat” hacker or hackers who seemed to exploit a vulnerability in the company’s digital contracts and execute a $610 million hack by offering a $500,000 “bug bounty,” according to Reuters.

Poly Network’s statement thanks the hacker for “helping us improve Poly Network’s security” and said it hopes “Mr. White Hat” will accept the reward, which the company offered during negotiations about returning the digital coins.

The hacker has returned $340 million as of Friday morning and transferred most of the rest of the hacked amount to a digital wallet controlled by both the hacker and Poly Network, a decentralized finance platform that primarily allows users to transfer or trade digital tokens across various blockchains.

Poly Network’s statement doesn’t say if the hacker accepted the offer or what form the reward would take if it were paid.

Related: Crypto Platform Poly Network Says Hacker Returned Much Of Taken Funds

The Poly Network theft, which occurred on Tuesday (Aug. 10), was one of the largest reported of cryptocurrency, according to Reuters. Poly Network has said the tokens were transferred to a multi-signature wallet controlled by both the hacker and the company.

The hacker began returning the money on Wednesday, one day after the hack. They transferred the stolen assets to addresses on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon. One of the hackers said they did it “for fun” and had always intended to return the funds.

Also read: White House Ransomware Task Force Tries To Stem The Tide Of Attacks

Last month, the White House launched a ransomware task force aimed at curbing cyberattacks, promising payouts up to $10 million for information that identifies the hackers.

Ransomware attacks happen every 11 seconds, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, and there have been 4,000 daily ransomware attacks in the U.S. since 2016.

The ransomware task force became a priority for the Biden administration in the wake of the $70 million in crypto ransom sought by Russian hacking group REvil before its abrupt disappearance. The unit could launch “disruptive cyberattacks on hacker gangs” and develop partnerships with businesses that should expedite how quickly federal officials can respond to these hacks.