In the first half of 2023, the crypto sphere faced a fresh wave of cyber incidents. Analysis conducted by the Atlas VPN team revealed that these incidents resulted in a staggering loss of $666,354,302 for various crypto projects and their clients. However, compared to the same period last year, the number of crypto-related cyberattacks and losses have declined.
Among the ecosystems affected, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) suffered the highest number of incidents, totaling 30, which led to losses amounting to $25,137,913. On the other hand, the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem experienced the most significant financial losses, with hackers looting $265,237,633 from multiple Ethereum-related projects in 29 separate incidents.
The Polygon ecosystem also suffered considerable losses, amounting to $122,685,000, as a result of only four cyber attacks. Additionally, various crypto wallets faced losses of $109,200,000.
Contract vulnerabilities accounted for 22% of the cases, where malicious actors exploited these weaknesses to carry out their attacks. Social media hacks constituted 14% of the incidents, which were then utilized for social engineering attacks, ultimately leading to the extraction of funds from unsuspecting victims.
Interestingly, it is not just hackers who are responsible for the theft of crypto funds; sometimes the crypto projects themselves play a part. In the first half of the year, fraudsters managed to swindle an astonishing $248,769,543 from crypto enthusiasts. In the first quarter, victims of crypto scams suffered losses amounting to $9,355,832. However, the situation worsened significantly in the second quarter, with the losses surging by an alarming 2,459% to reach a staggering $239,413,711.
Cryptocurrency-related cybercrime is attractive to thieves due to the absence of legal protections or government assurances in crypto payments. The chances of recovering lost funds are nearly nonexistent.
To avoid falling victim to crypto-related cyberattacks and scams, it is crucial to choose crypto services carefully, be wary of offers that seem too good to be true or get-rich-quick schemes and refrain from responding to unsolicited investment proposals or prompts to log into your crypto wallet. These are just a few measures that can help people protect themselves from such incidents. To read more about the incident, click here.
Read Next: Protecting Your Business in the Age of Cybercrime: Expert Tips
