Last year, North Korea-based hackers stole around $660.50 million in 20 cases. This year, the number went to $1.34 billion stolen in 47 cases.
In between, the most prominent hacks are the theft of over $305 million from the crypto exchange in Japan, DMM Bitcoin in May this year.
Opposing the increase in these crimes, particularly fraud will certainly be a prime challenge for the industry in the coming year.
On December 19, Chainalysis reported that funds theft by cryptocurrency platform hacks went up by 21% as compared to last year and is currently standing at $2.2 billion this year. The total amount of hacks went over $1 billion for the continuous fourth year.
The number of incidents went up to 303 this year as compared to 282 in last year, Chainalysis mentioned. Last year, the amount stolen by hackers was estimated at about $1.8 billion. The increase in the hack of crypto comes amid the skyrocketing of bitcoin by 140% this year to go over the $100,000 mark, taking institutional participation and support from the newly elected President Donald Trump.
The major hacks
The head of cybercrimes research, Eric Jardine revealed that as the virtual asset market increases, it is classic to witness the illegal use of crypto growth in collaboration. Opposing the increase in these crimes, particularly fraud will certainly be a prime challenge for the industry in the coming year.
Agreement to private key that gives access to the assets of users recorded for most of the stolen crypto in 2024 having the majority of the hacks aimed at the centralized platforms, as mentioned in the report.
In between, the most prominent hacks are the theft of over $305 million from the crypto exchange in Japan, DMM Bitcoin in May this year, and the loss of around $235 million from a prominent exchange in India in July.
North Korea-based hacks
Chainalysis further reported that Crypto hacking associated with North Korea more than doubled from a year ago to a record high of about $1.3 billion this year. Cryptocurrency permits North Korea to avoid international sanctions, as stated by the United Nations. The nation has continuously denied involvement in cyber hacking or crypto theft.
Last year, North Korea-based hackers stole around $660.50 million in 20 cases. This year, the number went to $1.34 billion stolen in 47 cases, this showed a total of 102.88% growth in the stolen value. Figures show that 61% of the total amount stolen for the year, and around 20% of total incidents.
To lower the risks, firms should give priority to thorough employment assessment, consisting of background checks and identity verification at the time while maintaining strong private key hygiene to protect critical assets, if necessary. At the same time, all of these trends forecast a very active year.
