Firstly, cryptocurrency companies are fairly new to the market but deal with a lot of sensitive information, including the client’s funds. Secondly, crypto payments are irreversible and uncontrolled by central authorities, so it is easier for criminals to run away with stolen funds.
Lastly, many newcomers are not very knowledgeable about how cryptocurrencies work, making it easier for criminals to scam them. These are just some reasons why crypto-related cyber crimes are still going strong. In this article, the Atlas VPN team has compiled a list of the top five most notable cryptocurrency threat statistics and findings of the last year…
#1 Crypto hackers stole almost $2 billion in H1 2022 (Source)
Even with the crypto market on the decline, cryptocurrency project hacks are not going anywhere. In the first half of 2022, cybercriminals cashed in $1.97 billion from 175 crypto project hacks.
Over $1 billion were looted from the Ethereum ecosystem projects alone. The Solana ecosystem also suffered greatly, with hackers stealing $383.9 million from Solana-related projects.
#2 Crypto miners were the most-common malware family in 2021 (Source)
There are many types of malware, and each is used for different attacking objectives. All malware is classified as malicious software and can crack passwords, spread through networks, or disrupt the daily operations of organizations. In 2021, the most widespread malware family was cryptominers, with about 150K such threat detections.
Cryptominers have become extremely popular among cybercriminals over the past year. By using CPU and GPU resources of victims’ devices, threat actors mine various crypto for profit. Sometimes such malware can stay on the device unnoticed for months.
#3 Over $12 billion in crypto stolen in the past decade (Source)
The crypto industry’s technology has improved dramatically since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009. Despite this, many cryptocurrency providers have failed to develop effective security mechanisms that would prevent hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities for personal benefit at the expense of their victims.
Research revealed that more than $12 billion of crypto assets were stolen in the past 11 years. In addition, 40% of the funds were stolen from fraudulent exchanges, while Decentralized Finance (DeFi)-related hacks continue to surge.
#4 Blockchain.com, Luno, and Cardano are the top-most phished crypto projects (Source)
One of the phishers’ favorite tactics is impersonating well-known brands, and cryptocurrency brands are no exception.
Out of all cryptocurrency service brands, the website of Blockchain.com was the most commonly spoofed. The brand had 662 phishing websites in the last 90 days (till June 22, 2022). Blockchain.com is followed by the crypto investing app Luno, with 277 phishing pages, and proof-of-stake blockchain platform Cardano with 191.
#5 DeFi-related hacks accounted for 76% of all major hacks in 2021 (Source)
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a system that enables the availability of financial products on a public decentralized blockchain network. Buyers, sellers, lenders, and borrowers can interact peer-to-peer through DeFi instead of going through intermediaries such as banks or brokerages when arranging transactions.
The Atlas VPN team found that DeFi-related hacks made up 76% of all major hacks in 2021. Furthermore, hackers stole $361 million from DeFi projects in the first half of 2021, which surpasses losses from 2020 by 180%.
