Bug bounty hunter with a difference! Hacker got $500,000 for 'stealing' $610 mn from Poly Network

A bug bounty hunter, an ethical hacker or someone who pulled off a major hack but could not launder stolen money? Whatever. Hacker got paid $500,000 for his Poly Network hack.

Poly Network has paid a half-a-million dollars as a bug bounty to a hacker who stole, and returned, $610 mn. (MINT_PRINT)

This bug bounty hunter has just been paid $500,000 for hacking and 'stealing' a $610 million fortune! Yes, the bug bounty hunter business is thriving now that most of the world has gone digital. However, although everything online is great, almost every company, bank and everything in between, in the world is vulnerable to hacking, especially, the financial sector. And by proxy, every customer is exposed to loss too. And that is exactly what happened to the cryptocurrency platform Poly Network, which had initially reported $610 million was stolen from it by a hacker.

The curious case of returning money? Things unfolded gradually. First the 'theft' was reported and then it transpired that the money was coming back in installments. The hacker was actually returning the money he had 'stolen'. It turned out, the hacker had done it just for some 'fun'. Poly Network said the hacker has returned $340 million worth of assets while the rest has been transferred to a digital wallet that is jointly controlled by him and Poly Network.

Poly, in its statement, dubbed him a "white hat" hacker, which is sector jargon for an ethical hacker who generally aims to expose cyber vulnerabilities or loopholes in companies so that they can improve the security on their system and thereby stop cybercriminals from stealing their money or data.

Poly says 'thank you': The rewards for 'Mr White Hat' hacker were quick to flow in as, by Friday, Poly Network had offered him a $500,000 "bug bounty". The company even expressed gratitude to the hacker. In a statement it thanked the hacker - who had returned the bulk of the funds by then - for "helping us improve Poly Network's security".

Why did he return the money? Some blockchain analysts have not been very charitable. In fact, they have speculated that the hacker might have found it too difficult to launder stolen cryptocurrency on such a scale, according to Reuters.

Why did he do it? The hackers said in digital messages shared by Elliptic that the attack on Poly Network was launched just for fun. The intention, he said was always to return the money.

The hacker has been informed about the plan to pay him half a million dollars, but it is not clear if he has accepted.