Crypto hacking remains a serious concern for the crypto ecosystem with a report by Chainalysis showing that $2.2 billion was lost to hackers in 2024 via 303 hacking incidents. This follows a worrying trend in 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023 where at least $1.5 billion worth of crypto has been stolen with 2024 making it the fifth time this milestone has been reached.

The amount of crypto stolen in 2024 rose by 21.07% year-on-year with 303 hacking incidents compared to 282 in 2023. Interestingly, the majority of the hacks happened between January and July 2024 with $1.58 billion stolen within the period.

In previous years, the main targets of crypto hacks have been decentralized finance (defi) platforms, due to the tendency of founders to prioritize rapid expansion over security. However, 2024 saw a systematic shift with centralized platforms targeted significantly. The most notable centralized platform hacks included DMM Bitcoin where $305 million was lost and WazirX where hackers made away with $234.9 million.

This change in strategy by hackers from defi to centralized services emphasizes how crucial it is to secure hacker-friendly mechanisms like private keys. In 2024, private key compromises accounted for 43.8% of all crypto thefts.

Given that centralized exchanges manage substantial amounts of user funds, the impact of a private key compromise can be devastating as seen in the case of the $305 million DMM bitcoin hack, which may have occurred due to private key mismanagement and led to a permanent shut down of operations by the exchange.

In order to obscure the transaction trail and make tracing more difficult, hackers frequently launder stolen assets through decentralized exchanges (dexs), mining services, or mixing/bridging services.

North Korean hackers have gained notoriety for their cunning and persistent tactics, frequently using social engineering and sophisticated malware to cart away millions of dollars.

This was again evident in 2024 with North Korean hackers stealing $1.34 billion from 47 incidents, a 102.88% increase in the $660.50 million stolen in 2023 from 20 incidents. The total amount of funds stolen by North Korean hackers accounts for 20% of all incidents and 61% of the total funds stolen over the entire year.

The rise in crypto theft in 2024 emphasizes how the sector must adapt to a changing and more complicated threat environment. In addition to enhancing the resilience required to protect crypto assets, data-sharing programs, real-time security solutions, sophisticated tracing tools, and focused training can enable stakeholders to promptly detect and eliminate hackers to prevent large-scale losses.

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