SSV Labs CEO: Validator slashing incident did not harm the protocol

PANews reported on September 11th that, according to The Block, multiple Ethereum validators on the SSV network experienced slashing events on Wednesday. These incidents involved validators operated by Ankr and a cluster of seven operators migrating from an Allnodes, raising concerns about the security of the SSV protocol. SSV Labs CEO Alon Muroch stated on the X platform that the "SSV protocol has not been compromised" and that no corrective action is required by operators or stakers. Subsequent analysis revealed that the monitoring system first issued an alert at 11:51 UTC, and approximately 90 minutes later, a larger-scale slashing event occurred, affecting 39 validators. An investigation revealed that both incidents originated externally from the SSV protocol and were related to validator key management. No double signing or other issues on the SSV side were found. Muroch stated that the larger incident was caused by an improper configuration in Ankr's operations and maintenance, which resulted in the simultaneous activation of validator keys. Ankr has shut down the affected operators and is investigating the cause. The smaller incident is still under review, and the secondary validator setup may have played a role. SSV Labs emphasized the importance of strict key management and stated that the SSV protocol and infrastructure remain intact.