According to blockchain analytics firm TRM, hackers stole twice as many cryptocurrency assets in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
A new TRM report found that from January to June 24 this year, cybercriminals siphoned off $1.38 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets through hacks and online attacks.
For comparison, during the same period last year, attackers stole $657 million worth of cryptocurrency.
The top five hacks and exploits account for 70% of cryptocurrency asset thefts in the first six months of 2024, according to TRM.
“Compromises of private keys and seed phrases will remain the main attack vectors in 2024, along with smart contract exploits and attacks on flash loans.”
The blockchain intelligence firm notes that the biggest attack so far is Bitcoin's DMM. In May, the Tokyo cryptocurrency exchange lost 4,500 Bitcoins (BTC) worth more than $300 million at the time of the incident. TRM says the exact cause of the exploit is not yet known, but notes that hackers could have accessed the funds using stolen private keys or address poisoning.
Address spoofing usually involves a scammer sending a small amount of cryptocurrency to a wallet through an address that looks similar to the recipient's wallet address. The trick is designed to trick wallet owners into mistakenly copying the scammer's address from their transaction history and sending funds to that wallet instead.
TRM also claims that rising token prices over the past six months may have contributed to the rise in cryptocurrency thefts.
Although cryptocurrency thefts have increased significantly this year, TRM notes that volumes are still well below the all-time high level recorded in 2022.
“However, the number of thefts due to hacks and exploits is a third lower than in the same period in 2022, which remains a record high.
Last month, blockchain security company SlowMist reportedly warned of a surge in scams targeting Toncoin (TON) users on the messaging app Telegram. Fraudsters are reported to be distributing phishing links through groups and using deceptive tactics such as fake airdrops to steal from users' wallets.
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