For the partial year 2023, losses from hacks in the crypto industry amounted to less than half of the full-year 2022 figure, according to TRM Labs.
Crypto hack volumes fell by over 50% in 2023 compared to 2022 according to research by TRM Labs. Click here to read the story: https://t.co/HFOedUeCqR pic.twitter.com/MPEaHqWdSL
— TRM Labs (@trmlabs) December 12, 2023
From January through November, cybercriminals stole about $1.7 billion in 160 attacks. The figure for the whole of last year was almost $4 billion.
Infrastructure attacks accounted for 57.6% of the total. Among them, the greatest damage was from theft of private keys and seed-phrase brute-forcing. Exploits of code and protocol attacks accounted for only 10.5% and 10.8%, respectively.
Experts cited three key factors that could have contributed to the decline in crypto-industry losses from hacks in 2023:
- Strengthening security measures, including real-time transaction monitoring and anomaly-detection systems;
- Increased global law-enforcement activity in cybercrime involving digital currencies;
- The industry coordination — Bitcoin exchanges, wallet providers and blockchain networks are exchanging information about vulnerabilities and threats more actively.
Despite the decline in losses from hacks in 2023, TRM Labs noted the rapidly changing nature of cybercrime. Experts say the crypto industry and law enforcement should remain vigilant and adaptable.
In November, the damage from hacks and scams stood at $343 million — the highest monthly figure since the start of the year, Immunefi said.
Since 2017, North Korean hackers have stolen around $3 billion in digital assets. Of which $1.7 billion was in the last year, according to Recorded Future.