The organization behind the construction of the Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge, Blue Pepper, predicts that the much-anticipated milestone will go online later this year.
In it, users will be able to transfer between Doge and Ethereum on the blockchain using the bidirectional bridge. Dogecoin will be used in smart contracts, decentralized finance protocols, and non-fungible token marketplaces.
The founding members of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in charge of overseeing the protocol will be the Dogecoin Foundation, Blue Pepper, MyDoge, and BitGo.
According to Blue Pepper, some of the biggest problems with developing a Dogecoin bridge are the huge Solidity software and the vast array of potential attack vectors that may be exploited to hack the bridge are the first challenges that developers must overcome.
What Are Bridges?
Bridges are the technical framework that enables users to transfer assets between several blockchains, the digital database that powers the majority of the world’s cryptocurrencies.
This feature allows for easier monetary transactions across a bigger number of users.
A bridge service basically “wraps” the money from your blockchain, and then exchanges one coin for another so that it may operate on the other blockchain.
The Dangers of Cryptocurrency Bridges
Blockchain bridges are one of the major targets for hackers.
Over the last couple of years, countless hacking attacks happened on bridges. For instance,
Blockchain bridges have become one of the top targets for attackers, losing billions of dollars worth of crypto.
Earlier this month, the crypto world saw an example of how hackers look for security issues on bridges.
According to blockchain security and data analytics firm Peckshield, hackers stole bitcoin from the cryptocurrency bridge provider “Nomad”. The attack was allegedly worth $190 million. (Nomad has not confirmed the loss amount.)
Also, earlier this year, Axie Infinity’s bridge got hacked in an attack allegedly done by North Korean hackers. The incident eventually cost the gaming platform over half a billion dollars that possibly was used to fund North Korea’s nuclear program.
That’s why many experts consider blockchain bridges to account for the majority of crypto funds that have been stolen in 2022 so far.
“Social engineering and associated private key compromises have always been a vector of attack on DeFi platforms in general, not just bridges,“ says Arda Akartuna, a cryptocurrency threat analyst at the blockchain analytics and compliance firm Elliptic. “They have, however, been observed comparatively less often than code exploits. There is nothing to suggest that social engineering-based exploits are becoming more popular, though the success of the Ronin incident has the potential to inspire other hackers.”
Arda Akartuna, a cryptocurrency threat analyst at the blockchain analytics and compliance firm Elliptic.
According to Arda Akartuna, an analyst for cryptocurrency threats at the Elliptic blockchain analytics and compliance company, crypto bridges are not dangerous per see. Akartuna also believes that bridge technology has room to grow more secure.
“Social engineering and associated private key compromises have always been a vector of attack on DeFi platforms in general, not just bridges,“ Akartuna told Wired. “They have, however, been observed comparatively less often than code exploits. There is nothing to suggest that social engineering-based exploits are becoming more popular, though the success of the Ronin incident has the potential to inspire other hackers.”
However, Akartuna does warn about the current dangers of cryptocurrency bridges.
“In some cases, bridges deal with lesser-known or more obscure blockchains where security auditing is not as yet widespread,” Akartuna says. “This means that the likelihood of there being unpatched security vulnerabilities in their protocols is greater in comparison to DeFi platforms operating solely on more well-known blockchains.”
