Crypto hackers are still a major threat, even as the industry matures. They’ve stolen over $1.2 billion in digital assets this year, which is a 15.5% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
A Rollercoaster Year for Crypto Hacks
While the overall trend shows an increase in stolen funds, there’s been a lot of fluctuation throughout the year. August 2024 saw the lowest losses so far, with only $15 million lost across five incidents. This is a huge drop compared to July, which saw over $269 million stolen, largely due to the hack of the Indian exchange WazirX.
Looking at the year-over-year data, August 2024 saw a 38% decrease in losses compared to August 2023. However, the majority of the losses in August 2024 were due to hacks of DeFi protocols, including Ronin Network and Nexera.
DeFi Remains a Target
DeFi projects are proving to be a major target for hackers. In August 2024, all of the stolen funds were from DeFi incidents, whereas in July, the majority of the losses were from the CeFi platform WazirX.
The Need for Stronger Security
While some recent trends suggest that security measures are improving, there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’ve seen examples like the Exactly hack on Optimism and the Rho Markets incident, where lax security measures allowed hackers to steal millions.
The crypto industry needs to continue focusing on improving security measures to protect user funds and build trust in the ecosystem.
