A bug in the Parity wallet software allowed attackers to steal funds from certain multi-sig Ethereum wallets. Among funds stolen were proceeds from initial coin offerings (ICOs). This amounts to just one of several alleged hacks against new projects and ICOs lately. Two industry leaders have spoken to Cointelegraph about what they’ve learned from these attacks.
Stronger Ethereum
Matchpool is an Ethereum-based decentralized matchmaking and networking platform that came under attack following an alpha release of its service. According to co-founder and CTO Yonatan Ben Shimon, investors raised a number of concerns following the Parity attack.
Ben Shimon believes the attack, while unfortunate, has helped make his service and the entire Ethereum ecosystem a little better. He says:
“In general, I think the attack is a natural step that will make Ethereum stronger. The hack didn't affect us because the white hat group [who stole the funds] gave us the money back. I am now more excited about the future of our project especially as the beta release is getting closer.”
Diversification key
Another Ethereum-based platform that was affected by the attack was Brickblock. Founder Maximilian Power explained to Cointelegraph the lesson that his team learned from the attack:
“The recent hack of the Parity multisignature wallet is incredibly unfortunate. A minor bug resulting in the loss of $31 Million proves that we have still not reached a point of maturity and security. For us, this signals that the lessons learned in terms of both security and erratic market volatility are to not bet everything on one horse and to wisely segregate funds and investments.”
While the Parity hack was a significant road bump in the development of many decentralized projects, the lessons learned will reverberate throughout the ecosystem. Current and future projects that learn from the experience will be stronger and create better products.