There was a significant number of private key thefts in 2024, resulting in much higher losses compared to 2023.
There have been cases where hackers have stolen millions of dollars from individuals and companies such as Ripple and Wilder World.
This shows us the importance of protecting private keys to prevent financial losses in the Web3 space.
A new, very alarming trend is gaining momentum in the crypto ecosystem. In March 2024, the number of private key thefts increased sharply, with significant financial consequences. According to Certik, a leading Web3 security company, losses due to private key compromise between March 12 and March 16 amounted to approximately $22.96 million.
The first quarter of 2024 saw an alarming trend: losses associated with private key leaks totaled $239 million, a significant increase from the previous year. The number of reported incidents also doubled, with 24 attacks reported in 2024, up from 11 in the first quarter of 2023.
A look at loud bangs and attacks
In a high-profile incident, Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple, suffered $112 million in losses when his X account was compromised. In addition, other organizations such as Prompt, Mozaic Fi, Wilder World, and Remilia have experienced targeted attacks that have resulted in significant losses.
NFPrompt: A group of hackers broke into the Prompt wallet and compromised the company's contract administrator accounts, causing approximately $10.4 million in damage. A suspicious wallet created a multi-signature wallet and sent approximately $7 million worth of NFP tokens. Moreover, approximately 3.6 million NFT tokens, valued at $3.4 million at the time of the transaction, were transferred to MEXC.
Mozaic Fi: On March 15th, the private key was stolen from the main Mozaic Fi wallet. In total, $2.1 million was stolen from users and sent to MEXC and Binance. Fortunately, Mozaic Fi even returned 90% of the stolen money by promptly reporting and freezing the funds on the relevant exchanges.
Wilder World: Nine WW documents were illegally breached and $1.81 million worth of assets were stolen. The hack involved the compromised deployer's private key, which allowed the attacker to redirect the remaining contract tokens.
Remilia: On March 16, the founder of Remilia Wallet reported a phishing attack. The attacker gained access to many wallets by hacking into the BitWarden account. From several wallets, 300 ETH and several assets worth another 544 ETH were stolen, including NFT REMIO and MILADY.
Protecting private keys
The private keys needed to access and manage digital assets on blockchain networks are vulnerable to theft through phishing, malware, or social engineering tactics. Protecting these keys is critical to reducing losses and ensuring the security of digital assets.
As the threat of private key theft becomes more serious, prioritizing security measures is critical for both public and private organizations operating in the digital asset arena. Preventive measures are needed to protect against future losses and maintain the integrity of the web3 ecosystem.
