Aztec Exploiter Bets on Patience in Slow-Burn Laundering Tactic
Aztec Exploiter's Slow-Burn Laundering Tactic Raises Concerns
The hacker who drained $2.19 million from Aztec's Connect rollup has now funneled a total of 500 ETH into the sanctioned mixing service Tornado Cash, signaling a calculated approach to laundering stolen digital assets.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified the latest transfer of 300 ETH on August 8, pushing the cumulative deposits to the mixer past the halfway mark of the 909 ETH originally siphoned. The attacker's methodical pace marks a stark departure from the frantic blitz of transactions seen in other major crypto heists.
The slow movement of funds via Tornado Cash stands in contrast to cases like the 2022 Beanstalk incident, where perpetrators executed 270 transactions involving 24,930 ETH within moments of each other. Analysts noted that even a drawn-out exit strategy leaves traces, and investigators have successfully tracked funds even after they pass through mixing protocols.
The affected contracts had already been deprecated, making them immutable -- and also preventing any intervention once the vulnerability was exploited. The current Aztec Network and its native AZTEC token were not impacted.