Sonne Finance (Cryptocurrency Lending Protocol)

2024: Hacker hacked Sonne Finance blockchain protocol and withdrew $20 million in cryptocurrency

In mid-May 2024, the Sonne Finance cryptocurrency lending protocol team announced a hacker attack. As a result of the hack, the cybercriminal managed to withdraw assets worth approximately $20 million.

Sonne Finance allows people to lend and borrow funds without the participation of intermediaries such as banks. It is reported that the attack on the infrastructure was detected about 25 minutes after it began. The services were suspended, but by that time there had already been a theft of funds. At the same time, it is alleged that thanks to operational actions, it was possible to prevent the theft of assets by about $6.5 million.

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The attacker withdrew funds in the form of USDC, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Then "many transactions" were carried out, during which the cybercriminal exchanged the stolen funds for bitcoins. The Sonne Finance team offered the hacker a reward in exchange for recovering the stolen assets. At the same time, the developers of the blockchain protocol promise not to involve law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and capture the attacker. As of the end of May 2024, there is no information about exactly how much the affected party is ready to pay to the hacker. The attacker himself did not get in touch.

We are ready to pay a reward to the hacker, as well as not to further investigate this issue in the event of a refund, the Sonne Finance team said.

It is said that the attacker took advantage of the vulnerability of donations. Although Sonne Finance was aware of this problem and took certain security measures, in fact, these protective mechanisms were ineffective. It is noted that hacker attacks on the cryptocurrency infrastructure continue, despite the increasing attention to this sector from law enforcement agencies.^[1]

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