Following a cybersecurity breach on Io.net, the founder will host a livestream on April 28 to showcase live cluster creation and address concerns.

The breach occurred within Io.net, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), where malicious actors exploited exposed user ID tokens to execute a system query language (SQL) injection attack. This breach led to unauthorized alterations in device metadata within the graphics processing unit (GPU) network.

Promptly responding to the breach, Husky.io, Io.net’s chief security officer, implemented remedial actions and security upgrades to safeguard the network. Fortunately, the attack did not compromise the actual hardware of the GPUs, which remained secure due to robust permission layers.

The breach was detected during a surge in write operations to the GPU metadata API, prompting alerts at 1:05 am PST on April 25. In response, security measures were reinforced by implementing SQL injection checks on application program interfaces (APIs) and enhancing the logging of unauthorized attempts. Additionally, a user-specific authentication solution using Auth0 with OKTA was swiftly deployed to address vulnerabilities related to universal authorization tokens.

However, this security update coincided with a snapshot of the rewards program, leading to an expected decrease in supply-side participants. As a result, legitimate GPUs that did not restart and update could not access the uptime API, causing a significant drop in active GPU connections from 600,000 to 10,000.

To address these challenges, Ignition Rewards Season 2 has been initiated in May to encourage supply-side participation. Ongoing efforts include collaborating with suppliers to upgrade, restart, and reconnect devices to the network.

The breach originated from vulnerabilities introduced during the implementation of a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to identify counterfeit GPUs. Aggressive security patches before the incident prompted an escalation in attack methods, necessitating continuous security reviews and improvements.

The attackers exploited a vulnerability in an API, inadvertently revealing user IDs when searching by device IDs. This leaked information was compiled into a database weeks before the breach. Leveraging a valid universal authentication token, the attackers accessed the ‘worker-API,' enabling changes to device metadata without requiring user-level authentication.

Husky.io emphasized ongoing thorough reviews and penetration tests on public endpoints to detect and neutralize threats early. Despite challenges, efforts are underway to incentivize supply-side participation and restore network connections, ensuring the platform’s integrity while serving tens of thousands of compute hours per month.

Furthermore, Io.net planned to integrate Apple silicon chip hardware in March to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) services.