Cryptocurrency Q&A
How did the DAO get hacked?
How did the DAO get hacked?
SumoHonorable
Thu Jun 27 2024
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5 answers
994
In the world of cryptocurrency, the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) was once a groundbreaking concept, promising a new era of decentralized governance and funding. However, in 2016, it suffered a significant hack that shook the crypto community. The question remains: how did the DAO get hacked?
The hack stemmed from a vulnerability in the DAO's smart contract code. This vulnerability allowed hackers to exploit a recursive calling mechanism, resulting in the creation of a large number of child DAOs. By dividing the funds into these child DAOs, the hackers were able to withdraw a significant portion of the DAO's Ether funds into their own accounts. This exploit, known as the "split function attack," left the DAO with a substantial financial loss and raised questions about the security of smart contracts and decentralized governance.
So, in summary, the DAO was hacked due to a vulnerability in its smart contract code that allowed hackers to exploit a recursive calling mechanism and withdraw funds into their own accounts. This event served as a wakeup call for the crypto community, emphasizing the importance of rigorous smart contract auditing and security measures.
5 answers
Michele
Sat Jun 29 2024
The value of these stolen Ether, at the time, was estimated to be around $50 million.
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Lorenzo
Sat Jun 29 2024
On June 17, 2016, the DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, faced a significant challenge.
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Sebastiano
Sat Jun 29 2024
This incident raised significant concerns within the cryptocurrency community, highlighting the need for robust security measures and vigilance against such vulnerabilities.
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SakuraBloom
Sat Jun 29 2024
The attack was executed by exploiting a combination of vulnerabilities, one of them being the issue with recursive calls.
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Martino
Sat Jun 29 2024
As a result of this attack, 3.6 million Ether was transferred, accounting for approximately a third of the 11.5 million Ether that had been allocated to The DAO.
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