The resurfacing of the hacker responsible for the $12 million exploit at Cork Protocol raises new concerns over fund recovery efforts. The attacker began laundering money through Tornado Cash and made an unexpected donation.
Exploiter's Actions
On June 25, blockchain security firm PeckShield Alert reported renewed activity from wallet addresses linked to the Cork Protocol hack. The attack occurred on May 28, draining approximately 3,761 wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) from the DeFi platform. The exploiter initially transferred 1,410 ETH worth roughly $3.2 million to Tornado Cash, followed by an additional transfer of 3,110 ETH, effectively laundering around $11 million.
Unexpected Donation for Developer Defense
In a surprising development, the attacker also made a 10 ETH donation to a Juicebox crowdfunding campaign supporting the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers, Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, who currently face legal challenges related to the platform's use by cybercriminals and sanctioned entities.
Cork Protocol's Response
Cork Protocol has expressed its commitment to asset recovery and is collaborating with security partners. However, the laundering activities through Tornado Cash complicate the tracking and retrieval of stolen funds. The original breach targeted vulnerabilities in the protocol's code.
The return of the exploiter and their laundering activities present new challenges for Cork Protocol in recovering lost assets and enhancing platform security.
