Investigating hacks related to digital currencies in 2022; Fewer numbers, more destruction
New data shows that the amount of money stolen in cryptocurrency-related cyberattacks has increased compared to previous years, and hackers have tended to target larger platforms. This is despite the fact that the number of hacker attacks has decreased compared to previous years.
To Report CryptoSlate, the number of hacks related to digital currencies has been decreasing significantly since the beginning of this year. According to the latest research by BestBrokers, the digital currency industry has experienced about 65 cyber attacks by mid-June this year, which shows a decrease compared to 251 attacks last year.
Although the number of attacks has decreased during this period, the amount of damage caused to this area has not decreased. Available data shows that the average amount stolen per attack has increased by 206% compared to 2021.
Hackers aim for quality, not quantity!
According to the research, the space of digital currencies witnessed a total of 251 attacks in 2021 and about 3.2 billion dollars were stolen during this period. This year, as of mid-June, the industry has lost about $1.7 billion in just 65 attacks.
As a result, it should be said that although the number of hacks related to digital currencies decreased drastically in 2022 and the prices in the market were accompanied by a drop, this issue did not have any effect on the total amount stolen.
The latest data from analytics platform Chainalysis shows that the average amount stolen per cryptocurrency-related attack this year is $26.6 million. This figure has increased by 206% compared to the average of $12.9 million in 2021. The amount stolen per attack in 2022 also shows a growth of 465.9% compared to the average of $4.7 million in 2020.
Researchers believe that hackers have succeeded in attacking bigger targets in 2022. DeFi market seems to be a favorite target of hackers; Because these platforms can generally provide hackers with the highest returns among decentralized protocols.
About 72% of all digital currencies stolen in 2021 were attributed to DeFi protocols and services, while the share of DeFi platforms increased to 97% in 2022, which is a shocking rate.
Robert Hoffman, a digital currency analyst at BestBrokers, said that DeFi has become a prime target for hackers because of its large amount of money from venture capital firms. The competitive nature of the market has also shown that the protocols that are launched the earliest will have the greatest chance of success.
Hoffman explained further:
The race to build a digital financial system in the fourth industrial revolution is very fast, and many stakeholders are trying to win the first place. The shortness of the process of releasing a product to the market in terms of time is often the result that the product is exposed to damage from various aspects, including security.
The technical nature of smart contracts and the expertise required to program them leaves a lot of room for manipulation and influence. However, Hoffman believes that once DeFi becomes mainstream, many of its security issues will be resolved, just like “any new technology that becomes widely used.”