Bittensor, a platform for decentralised Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers to lease computational power, is facing a major hacking attack.
Developers and the security team are working hard to address the issue by temporarily halting all transactions on the network to mitigate further hacking risks.
Attack on Bittensor Wallets
In the last three hours, the Bittensor team reported an attack on several wallets within their platform. This announcement was made by a community moderator, known as “const,” via a message on their official Discord channel.
Const stated, “We are investigating what appears to have been an attack on several Bittensor wallets over the last three hours.” As a precaution, transactions on the Bittensor network have been fully halted until further notice.
Jacob Robert Steeves, one of the co-founders of Bittensor, confirmed that the network has been temporarily suspended to investigate the situation further.
Unfortunately, the Opentensor Foundation, the organisation behind the Bittensor protocol, has not yet released an official statement regarding the incident. This attack highlights the challenges faced by decentralised platforms in maintaining system security.
The Bittensor developers and security team are collaborating with security experts to diagnose and address this attack. Neural Bond Connery, a member of the Bittensor team, indicated that some TAO validators have been hacked and the network has been paused for further investigation.
The network is currently firewalled to prevent the spread of the attack, and transfers have been temporarily blocked.
The Opentensor Foundation is preparing an update to activate safe mode, aiming to isolate the affected validators and minimise the risk for other users.
While these measures are taken to protect the network, the Bittensor community is advised to stay vigilant and await further updates from the development team.
Bittensor is a platform that leverages blockchain technology to support the development and exchange of Artificial Intelligence models in a decentralised manner.
The platform allows users to contribute to AI training by providing computational resources and data, which are then rewarded with TAO tokens.
Bittensor is based on the principle that the best AI models should be built collaboratively, with contributions from diverse sources. This approach differs from traditional methods typically employed by large companies with centralised resources. By decentralising, Bittensor aims to accelerate innovation and ensure that the results of AI development are accessible to all contributing parties.
To ensure the network remains secure, Bittensor uses a consensus mechanism similar to those used by other blockchains. Validators on the Bittensor network are responsible for verifying transactions and ensuring that the AI models developed meet the established standards.
However, the recent attack reveals existing security gaps that need to be addressed to protect the network’s integrity.
Decline in TAO Token Value
News of the attack has caused a significant drop in the value of the TAO token. According to CoinGecko, the TAO token has fallen more than 16% in the past 24 hours. This decline reflects the concerns of investors and platform users regarding the security of the Bittensor network.
Fortunately, this negative news has not yet spread widely, meaning the negative sentiment has not been fully realised. Additionally, despite the TAO token’s 16% decline, there has not been much ongoing discussion about the hack, suggesting that the token may still have the potential to recover.
Currently, the community has not reacted too strongly, although there are some disappointed members. However, Bittensor still enjoys the support of its loyal holders, suggesting that once this hack is resolved, many “whales” may take advantage of the price appreciation potential.
This movement is common as major holders often capitalise on network recovery to buy after prices have dropped. This trend is already visible, as the TAO token price is beginning to rebound after the major correction.
Conclusion
This incident serves as a reminder for all decentralised platforms to continuously strengthen their security measures and ensure system integrity. The attack on Bittensor and the more than 16% drop in TAO token value highlight the vulnerabilities of blockchain networks to security threats.
Users are advised to stay vigilant and follow updates through Bittensor’s official Discord channel. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide further updates as new information becomes available.
Therefore, the Bittensor community must unite and support the developers’ efforts in resolving this issue. Furthermore, lessons learned from this incident can be used to enhance network security in the future and prevent similar attacks from occurring.
