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Fake Deposit Attack Leaves $1 Billion Worth Of ERC-20 Tokens Vulnerable To Theft
Summary: A software vulnerability on Ethereum leaves over $1 billion worth of tokens on the blockchain open to be stolen from top exchanges, new research from Peking University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Zhejiang University and the University of Queensland states. The vulnerable tokens are missing a software standard released in 2017, according to the report. ...
A software vulnerability on Ethereum leaves over $1 billion worth of tokens on the blockchain open to be stolen from top exchanges, new research from Peking University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Zhejiang University and the University of Queensland states.
The vulnerable tokens are missing a software standard released in 2017, according to the report. The loophole is called a fake deposit exploit and authors identified 7,772 ERC-20 issuers with the problem.
Authors argue that by altering smart contracts or programming scripts of ERC-20 tokens listed on exchanges with poor transaction verification standards a hacker could siphon funds.
If the attack were carried out, it could potentially crash the exchange causing holders of the tokens and other cryptocurrencies to lose their assets.
By Emily Mason
Tags: ERC-20,Ethereum
Link: Fake Deposit Attack Leaves $1 Billion Worth Of ERC-20 Tokens Vulnerable To Theft [Copy]
