Cryptocurrency crime is flourishing, according to multiple year-end reports. For starters, cryptocurrency losses due to cyber theft rose to $3.7 billion last year. That’s a 58% increase over the $2.3 billion malicious actors stole from investors and exchanges in 2021, according to a new report by Immunefi. Meanwhile, illicit cryptocurrency activity reached an all-time high of $20.1 billion in 2022, a $2.1 billion increase from the previous year. The escalating U.S. sanctions targeting digital currencies have contributed to that rise, as per a recent report released by Chainalysis. These two reports reflect different aspects of cryptocurrency-related crime. On the one hand, you have criminals stealing crypto funds. On the other, criminals can use cryptocurrency to anonymously fund illicit activities. Across the board, nefarious businesses are booming. According to Immunefi, 95% of all cryptocurrency theft stems from hacking incidents. The remaining losses were a result of fraud and other scams. In 2022, researchers tracked a total of 134 hacking cases, a major increase from the 104 incidents recorded in 2021. Analysts had been tracking the growing wave of hacking attempts on digital currencies as the year progressed. In fact, Chainalysis proclaimed October 2022 as “the biggest month in the biggest year ever for hacking activity,” with the total cryptocurrency stolen reaching $718 million. By October, hackers had already amassed a total of $3 billion from 125 successful hacks.
Full story : Cryptocurrency-Related Crime Boomed in 2022.
To keep our readers abreast of crypto crimes, OODA has been compiling a comprehensive Web3 incident database based on our research to categorize what compromises are taking place as well as document the root causes that plague Cryptos, DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 in general. Tracking root causes provides comprehensive insights into how innovators can create robust cyber risk management approaches and reduce the potential for consequential attacks. You can access the OODA comprehensive Crypto Incident tracker here.
