The recent breach of Unizen in March 2024 resulted in a hacker successfully laundering over $2 million using the Tornado Cash mixer. According to cybersecurity experts at Peckshield Alerts, the attacker managed to launder 865.4 ETH, equivalent to approximately $2.16 million, from the exploited wallet. This illicit activity took place 151 days after the initial breach, which stemmed from an 'approve issue' on Unizen's platform, leading to a $2.1 million loss. Despite numerous attempts to recover the funds from the hacker, all efforts have been futile as the hacker has not engaged with the team. The laundering process began with the transfer of 2,179,859 DAI from the exploited wallet to another unidentified punk wallet labeled as '0X866...84d7.' Subsequently, the laundered DAI was converted to ETH on Uniswap before being funneled through Tornado Cash in 26 transactions, effectively concealing the funds and leaving the exploiters with significant gains.
The March 2024 Breach
The security breach that occurred on March 9, 2024, exploited the 'approve issue' vulnerability within Unizen's platform, resulting in a $2.1 million loss primarily in USDT, which was later exchanged for DAI. PeckShield identified the vulnerability and alerted Unizen; however, the damage had already been done by the time the notification reached the platform. Unizen made several attempts to communicate with the hacker, urging them to return the stolen assets and even offering to increase the bounty reward by 20%. Regrettably, the hacker remained unresponsive to the requests for asset return. The parallels between the Unizen breach and the Nomad Bridge hack highlight the vulnerability of platforms to cyberattacks. The Nomad Bridge incident, which occurred in August 2022 and saw a $200 million breach, emphasizes the critical importance of consistently enhancing security protocols. The hacker in both cases demonstrated strategic moves by capitalizing on the stolen funds to purchase numerous ETH after the incidents.
