Blockchain hacks on the rise as hackers steal $3.5 billion by 2022
Blockchain technology has received a lot of attention because it can change many industries. One reason people like blockchain is because it is supposed to be secure. This means that it is difficult to change data without people knowing, and it is difficult to falsify data. But like all technology, blockchain can be hacked.
The Atlas VPN team found that in 2022, blockchain hackers stole $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
Cybercriminals have targeted blockchain bridges and the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem, which collectively lost over $2 billion from 92 hacks and scams. A blockchain bridge is a system that allows assets or data to be transferred between different blockchain networks.
Blockchain bridges experienced a loss of $1.2 billion in cryptocurrencies in just 16 events. The Ronin Network sidechain bridge experienced the biggest hack of the year, when the attacker stole $610 million. The BSC ecosystem lost more than $870 million in 76 attacks or scams in 2022.
In October, a hacker stole around $588 million in an attack on BNBChain, which is the second biggest hack of the year. The Ethereum ecosystem experienced 49 incidents that resulted in the loss of over $500 million in cryptocurrencies.
Other crypto-related projects and people fell victim to 48 hacks, leading to a loss of $370 million. Attackers hacked the Solana ecosystem 12 times in 2022 and stole $196 million. 57 hacks and scams in the NFT space caused a loss of almost 90 million dollars.
Other crypto ecosystems, exchanges or wallets also went through significant losses ranging from $70 to $8 million. The FTX collapse that lost more than $8 billion of customers’ money is not mentioned here, but is considered a fraudulent exchange by most crypto experts.
Blockchain hacks are on the rise
Even though the value of cryptocurrencies fell in 2022, criminals still try to hack into blockchain networks and exchanges to get money. As more companies start using blockchain technology, hackers can make even more money from successful attacks.
In 2022, there were 301 incidents caused by cybercriminals and fraudsters. This is an all-time high. There were fewer hacks in the second half of the year, but the total number is still very high.
The first quarter of 2022 started with 79 blockchain incidents, which were more than any other quarter at the time, and hackers stole $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. In the second quarter, however, there were 98 incidents, which was 24% more than the previous quarter. Despite that, cybercriminals only stole $800 million from the blockchain, which is less money than they stole in the first quarter.
The prices of cryptocurrencies have fallen and as a result the number of blockchain hacks has decreased. In the third quarter of the year (Q3) there were 56 blockchain hacks, which is 43% lower than in Q2. But while the crypto market remains down overall, fraudsters and hackers have come up with several schemes in Q4, resulting in 68 incidents and over $1 billion in stolen profits.
As blockchain technology becomes more common, we will see more hacking attempts against these systems.
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