Truebit, an Ethereum-based verification protocol, has been exploited for $26 million after a hacker manipulated a bug in its code. The attack, which occurred around 4pm London time on Thursday, resulted in the theft of 8,535 Ether tokens. Shortly after, another exploit saw nearly $300,000 worth of TRU tokens stolen. The affected smart contract, deployed in 2021, had not undergone a third-party audit. Truebit has acknowledged the breach and is cooperating with law enforcement. This incident underscores a trend of hackers targeting older DeFi protocols, as noted by DeFi security researcher Weilin Li. Older smart contracts, often not actively maintained, are vulnerable due to outdated code practices. The Truebit exploit involved an integer overflow, a known vulnerability where a code error allows attackers to manipulate balances and bypass security checks. This type of exploit has affected multiple DeFi protocols, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in the sector.