SSV Labs denies compromise rumors
The SSV Network protocol, which participates in the validation of Ethereum transactions, remains secure, having to face several incidents involving slashing of Ethereum validators operating on the platform. This statement was made by Alon Muroch, head of SSV Labs.
The first signs of trouble appeared on Sept. 10 at 11:51 UTC, when the monitoring system flagged a penalty for one validator. An hour and a half later, a cluster of 39 validators was hit, raising concerns among users.
According to the investigation, both cases were caused by external key management errors, not failures of the protocol itself. “We checked the logs and found nothing indicating double-signing or an SSV failure. The protocol is not compromised,” Muroch emphasized.
The largest incident involved provider Ankr. Due to a configuration error, its validator keys were active simultaneously across two different infrastructures, which triggered the penalties. The company has shut down the affected nodes and is working with SSV Labs to address the fallout.
The second case involved a validator previously migrated from Allnodes, where specialists suspect the validator was running on multiple nodes simultaneously.
Related: What is Slashing?
SSV Network is built on distributed validator technology: a validator’s key is split into several parts and distributed among independent operators, minimizing downtime and double-signing risks. However, as the company noted, if keys are run outside the network, those safeguards no longer apply.
By design, SSV reduces the risk of slashing by distributing responsibility across operators. But key management must remain within a single secure environment,the team stated.
Despite penalties for individual validators, SSV Labs confirmed that the protocol’s infrastructure is operating normally and no action is required from stakers or operators.
