Experts have warned: it is possible to empty bitcoin wallets on the Lightning Network.
A study published on June 29 revealed that it was possible for bitcoin (BTC) wallets on the Lightning Network to be emptied using a bottleneck in the system.
According to the study, Jona Harris of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Aviv Zohar, (Lightning Network) described a systematic attack that allowed the theft of Bitcoin funds that were locked in payment channels in the Lightning Network.
Filling the blockchain with simultaneous attacks
The lighting network is used to send payments through decodes that can be used for bitcoin theft. This should usually be done quickly. However, the time can be extended by attackers filling the net.
For the attack to succeed, attackers must attack 85 channels simultaneously.
Details behind the attack
Investigators reveal more about the attack:
“The main thought about Hash time-locked contracts (HTLC) is that once it is created, payments are withdrawn by the target node by preventing confidential information from the previous node (such as hash’s prediction). The attacker directs a payment between his or her two nodes and pulls the payment at the end of the road. The payment refuses to cooperate when asked to withdraw from the source node, forcing the victim to do so through the blockchain transaction.”
