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Hackers have significantly increased their cryptocurrency loot in the first half of 2024, with a staggering $1.38 billion stolen between January 1 and June 24, according to a report by blockchain research firm TRM Labs. This marks a more than twofold increase compared to the $657 million stolen during the same period last year. The surge in stolen crypto is attributed to a few large-scale attacks, with the top five hacks accounting for 70% of the total amount.
The most common attack vectors in 2024 include private key and seed phrase compromises. A seed phrase is a sequence of random words used to access or recover a crypto wallet. The largest heist of the year so far involved the theft of over $300 million worth of bitcoin from Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin. Hackers employed techniques such as using stolen private keys and address poisoning, where they send a small amount of crypto from a wallet with a similar-looking address to trick victims into sending funds to the wrong wallet.
Crypto addresses are typically long, complex strings of characters, making them prone to errors when manually entered or memorized.
TRM Labs noted that there have not been fundamental changes in the crypto ecosystem’s security that would explain the increase in stolen assets. The number of attacks and the methods used have remained consistent year over year. However, higher average crypto prices in the first half of 2024 may have contributed to the increased value of stolen assets.
The cryptocurrency industry has been a frequent target of hacks and cyberattacks. Notably, crypto exchange Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after a series of hacks resulted in the loss of up to 950,000 bitcoin, valued at over $54 billion at today’s prices. More recently, in November 2023, approximately $115 million was stolen from HTX exchange and Heco Chain, platforms linked to high-profile entrepreneur Justin Sun.
TRM Labs recommends that crypto firms adopt a multi-layered defense strategy to combat hacks and exploits. This includes regular security audits, robust encryption, employee education, and a comprehensive incident response strategy. By implementing these measures, companies can better protect themselves against the growing threat of cyberattacks in the cryptocurrency space.