Interview with PeckShield and BlockSec: Why have cross-chain bridges become a security hotspot?
The main reasons why cross-chain bridges are vulnerable to attacks are: rapid expansion of funds, details still need to be optimized, and involvement of interactions between multiple chains and contracts.
Table of Contents
Summary
The responses from PeckShield and BlockSec have revealed the security challenges currently faced by cross-chain related protocols.
Overall, the reasons why cross-chain related protocols are prone to attacks can be roughly divided into three layers:
- With the rapid development of the track, the amount of funds it carries is rapidly expanding.
- The track is still in its nascent stage, and various details are yet to be optimized.
- Cross-chain related protocols often involve interactions between multiple chains and multiple contracts, making the process relatively complex with more risk points.
For ordinary users (mainly referring to liquidity providers who earn profits through cross-chain bridges), the current situation they face is somewhat similar to the early days of DeFi last year. They need to be more cautious in weighing profits and risks, and prioritize choosing protocols with more complete audits and smoother operations.
As for frontline project parties, on one hand, they need to learn from past experiences and address vulnerabilities more effectively. On the other hand, they should proactively upgrade security measures. This includes but is not limited to commissioning more security companies for audits, keeping up with upgrades and changes in the underlying public chains, integrating derivative security solutions like Lossless, seeking cooperation with insurance protocols like Nexus Mutual, exploring non-contractual liquidity locking methods like cBridge, and more.
Finally, we would like to urge all relevant industry practitioners, including affected projects like ChainSwap, AnySwap, THORChain, Poly Network, not to lose confidence. The initial stages of emerging tracks always come with growing pains. As the multi-chain landscape becomes more stable, cross-chain interactions will thrive even more. The fact that hackers have shown interest in this track proves its value. We hope that everyone will not stop moving forward because of this stumbling block.