Fuzzland Insider Causes $2M Bedrock UniBTC Hack
Fuzzland Insider Behind $2M Bedrock UniBTC Exploit
Smart contract analytics firm Fuzzland revealed that a former employee orchestrated a $2 million exploit targeting Bedrock’s UniBTC protocol in September 2024. The attacker used insider access, social engineering, and malware to infiltrate the platform.
How the Breach Happened
The ex-employee gained trust during the hiring process and secretly planted malicious code in engineering systems through a trojanized Rust crate. This backdoor remained undetected for weeks and allowed the attacker to monitor vulnerability discussions.
Although the vulnerability had been flagged in an earlier security report, Fuzzland deprioritized it due to excessive false positives. The attacker ultimately exploited this overlooked flaw to drain funds from Bedrock.
Response and Recovery
Fuzzland fully reimbursed Bedrock’s $2 million loss and launched an investigation with cybersecurity partners. Reports were filed with both the FBI and Chinese authorities.
Importantly, no customer or client data was compromised, as the exploit targeted only internal systems.
To strengthen defenses, Fuzzland implemented new security protocols, including stricter access controls, comprehensive vetting, software bill-of-material audits, advanced code scanning, and threat intelligence sharing.
Bedrock Protocol Impact
Bedrock, which offers liquid restaking solutions through UniBTC, UniETH, and UniIOTX, confirmed the breach after funds were siphoned from decentralized exchange pools on September 27, 2024. Despite the incident, Bedrock’s total value locked rose from $240 million in September 2024 to $535 million by June 2025.
Industry Implications
This case underscores a growing trend where attackers favor social engineering and insider threats over direct smart contract exploits. By mid-2025, over $2.1 billion in crypto had been lost to similar tactics, including phishing and wallet compromises.
Key Lessons for DeFi Projects
Lesson | Description |
|---|---|
Mitigate Insider Risk | Enforce rigorous background checks and limit privileges |
Prioritize Vulnerability Response | Even minor issues can lead to significant losses |
Secure Development Practices | Use isolated environments, code scanners, and SBOMs |
Collaborate for Threat Intelligence | Share insights to strengthen industry-wide security |
The Bedrock exploit highlights the urgent need for DeFi platforms to combine organizational and technical safeguards to combat increasingly sophisticated attacks.