Crypto hacks and fraud have resulted in losses exceeding $2.3 billion this year, underscoring ongoing security weaknesses in the sector. This total comes from 165 separate incidents, reflecting a 40% rise compared to last year.
Although the amount is less than the $3.7 billion lost in 2022, the consistent increase in attacks indicates that the industry’s defenses are still insufficient to combat increasingly sophisticated threats.
Cyvers’ annual report reveals that access control vulnerabilities were the main contributor to losses, making up 81% of the total stolen funds.
While these incidents only represented 41.6% of the total cases, their disproportionate impact highlights the risks associated with poor security management. Ethereum was the blockchain most heavily affected this year, with losses surpassing $1.2 billion.
A concerning trend this year has been the rise of “Pig Butchering” scams. These complex fraud schemes deceived users out of more than $3.6 billion, with the majority of the activity occurring on the Ethereum blockchain.
Cyvers emphasized to BeInCrypto that the increase in access control breaches and advanced scams like Pig Butchering highlights the need for AI-driven risk assessment, transaction validation, and anomaly detection tools. They stressed that security measures must evolve to keep pace with the growing sophistication and coordination of attacks.
Smart contract vulnerabilities, especially in DeFi, were a major focus of attacks this year. The third quarter of 2024 proved to be the worst for losses, with $790 million stolen during this time.
Cyvers researchers pointed out that for crypto platforms to avoid falling victim to hackers, they must implement strong detection and prevention systems, as well as integrate them into their crisis response strategies. According to Cyvers data, 9 out of 10 smart contracts that were compromised had been audited, and many had undergone rigorous penetration tests, yet this wasn’t sufficient to prevent the attacks.
In contrast, the fourth quarter saw a notable decrease in activity, indicating a temporary slowdown in malicious actions.
