PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

As the most secure , decentralised transactional system available today , blockchain is gaining ground . But is it really the best option ?

WRITTEN BY : JOANNA ENGLAND

PAVEL MATVEEV CEO OF WIREX

But last month , the financial industry was rocked to the core when what appeared to be a lone hacker stole US $ 600mn from the international cryptocurrency exchange , Poly Network .

The event caused shock and consternation , not only because of the sheer size of the heist – the largest recorded event to date – but because the hacker had done the unthinkable and exploited Poly Network ’ s formidable blockchain security .

Even more revealing was the fact that the hacker claimed to have carried out this feat after looking for system vulnerabilities for a mere ‘ few hours ’. In a seeming ‘ thumb the nose ’ gesture to the technocrats , the perpetrator then posted a Q & A guide to their hacking process on the social networking site , Twitter , just 24 hours after the event .

The funds ( or most of them ) were then returned , with the hacker ( or hackers ) admitting to carrying out the theft to prove a point and to highlight vulnerabilities in the DeFi ( decentralised financial ) system used by Poly Network .

Blockchain and security What the Poly Network case highlighted is that a DeFi system using blockchain technology can have serious vulnerabilities . The case is also not the first to happen in 2021 – and data suggests cybercrime against blockchain entities is on the rise . Although the losses have been smaller in other breaches this year , the amounts stolen are far from pocket change . For example ;

• February 2021 , Year Finance has $ 11mn stolen by hackers

• In the same month , Alpha Finance lost $ 37mn to cybercriminals

• In March 2021 , Meerkat Finance suffered a breach and had $ 32mn taken from its accounts .