Chainalysis AI Cuts Hack Investigation Time to 10 Minutes

A massive hack on the cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has been the subject of a recent investigation, with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis playing a crucial role in tracing the stolen funds. According to a report from Chainalysis, the firm used its in-house artificial intelligence (AI) to cut down the time it took to investigate the hack from over 20 hours to just 10 minutes. This was achieved by automating the task of matching deposits on one network with payouts on another, a process that was previously done manually.

The hack, which occurred on September 24, saw around $387 million drained from Bitget across four different blockchains: Ethereum, XRP, Zcash, and Tron. Chainalysis was able to track 23 separate transfers within the first three hours of the attack, with 49.7% of the stolen funds going to Ethereum, 40.8% to XRP, 7.6% to Zcash, and 1.8% to Tron. The firm's AI tracing tool was able to connect fragmented transaction trails that would otherwise have looked unrelated on separate networks.

Bitget's own investigation revealed that the breach was caused by a vulnerability in a third-party security product, which allowed attackers to obtain credentials and forge withdrawal commands. The exchange's CEO, Gracy Chen, initially attributed the attack to IP patterns and VPN infrastructure resembling known North Korean tactics, but later confirmed that North Korean actors were behind the attack.

Chainalysis' use of AI in this investigation highlights the potential for machine learning to accelerate and improve the efficiency of cybersecurity investigations in the cryptocurrency space.