According to a recent survey, Ethereum has emerged as the most frequently reported victim of blockchain breaches in 2024, with 33 incidences.
According to data from Smart Betting Guide, BNB Chain has experienced the most number of hacking incidents (14) in 2024, second only to Ethereum. While Bitcoin has only seen two incidences, Arbitrum and Solana have each witnessed six.
Notably, out of all the sectors that have been reported events this year, the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector has proven to be the most vulnerable to these attacks.
Here are the top ten biggest losses this year thus far:
Orbit Bridge: $81,680,000
Munchables: $62,800,000
PlayDapp: $32,350,000
FixedFloat: $26,100,000
GMEE: $15,000,000
WOOFi: $8,750,000
Coinspaid: $7,500,000
Abracadabra Money: $6,500,000
Seneca: $6,500,000
Gamma Strategies: $6,200,000
The survey also showed that in 2024, scams and hacks cost cryptocurrency consumers a total of about $437 million in losses. Though to a lesser degree, fraudulent actions such as rug pulls also added to the $14 million overall losses.
March Has Lower Rates of Theft
Furthermore, a recent CertiK analysis shows that March saw a notable drop in cryptocurrency theft. According to the data, cybercriminals took approximately $79 million from DeFi projects, which is a significant 48% drop from the $160 million they took in February.
One of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts that occurred in March featured an Ethereum smart contract implemented by Curio that was built on MakerDAO. PeckShield later updated the number, indicating that the true amount taken may have been closer to $40 million, despite the first estimates placing the loss at about $16 million.
In March, Prisma Finance had the second-highest loss as a result of a flash loan assault that resulted in the theft of around $12.4 million. The project team conducted an online conference during which the attacker, who represented himself as a white-hat hacker, first pledged to refund the monies that had been stolen.
The attacker's demands changed throughout the event, though, and the team members were now required to apologize and reveal their identities in public.
Security flaws were discovered that went beyond DeFi standards, claims CertiK. A cyberattack on the platform NFPrompt, funded by Binance, resulted in the theft of around $10 million in assets. In addition, a hacking attack resulted in losses of around $8.5 million for the WooFi decentralized exchange.
Internet Safety Tips for Cryptocurrency Users
Secure cryptography, according to Smart Betting Guide, entails removing passwords and seed phrases from cloud storage. Because they serve as recovery keys, seed phrases are easily pilfered by hackers looking to steal cryptocurrency.
The paper suggested adopting a hardware wallet for added security. The user's private keys are safely stored offline (cold storage) on this device, which looks like a USB drive. The keys can be used to execute transactions online when necessary.
Users should also put important security measures into place. These include using Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for logins, avoiding interacting with online pop-ups or links, and not clicking on links in questionable emails. Furthermore, it's advisable to be on the lookout for messages that promise quick money gains because they frequently come from phony accounts, which are a common social media scam.
April 2024, Cryptoniteuae