According to a report by TRM Labs, a blockchain research organization, hackers were able to double their Bitcoin haul in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year. The report highlights that hackers swiped $1.38 billion worth of crypto between January 1 and June 24, significantly more than the $657 million stolen in the same timeframe last year. This surge in stolen crypto was largely driven by a few major heists, with the top five attacks accounting for 70% of the total amount taken.
TRM Labs identified seed phrase compromises and private keys as the primary methods used by hackers in 2024. A seed phrase, or a string of random words, is crucial for accessing or recovering a crypto wallet.
The most significant heist of the year so far involved more than $300 million worth of Bitcoin, stolen from DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange. Hackers used either address poisoning, which involves transferring a tiny amount of cryptocurrency from an address that closely resembles the victim’s or recipient’s, or stolen private keys to deceive users into sending money to the incorrect wallet.
Cryptocurrency addresses are a good target for such deceptive approaches because they are notoriously difficult to memorize or input without errors due to their lengthy, complicated character sequences.
TRM Labs pointed out that there haven’t been substantial changes in the security landscape of the crypto environment to explain the increase in hacks. The number and types of attacks have remained relatively consistent year over year. However, the report did note that the average value of cryptocurrency has been higher in the past few months, which may have contributed to the increased value of stolen assets. Cryptocurrency companies continue to be frequent targets for cybercriminals.
For instance, the Mt. Gox crypto exchange went bankrupt in 2014 after losing up to 950,000 BTC in a number of hacks, a sum that would be worth more than $54 billion today. More recently in November 2023, platforms connected to renowned businessman Justin Sun, Heco Chain and HTX exchange, saw losses amounting to $115 million.
TRM Labs highlighted that cryptocurrency companies can reduce the danger of hackers and attacks by using a multilayered protection approach. This entails thorough personnel training, strong encryption and frequent security audits. Another essential step in defending businesses against cyberattacks is putting in place a comprehensive incident response plan.
These measures can help safeguard against the sophisticated tactics employed by modern hackers, ensuring better security for digital assets. Entities such as Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HIVE) (TSX.V: HIVE) probably take note of such breaches and come up with their own countermeasures to thwart any such attempts on their systems.
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