The third quarter of the year saw a significant increase in crypto-related hacks and scams, with malicious actors stealing over $750 million. This pushed total losses for the year to over $1.9 billion, as reported by CertiK in their quarterly Hack3d security report.
A total of 155 separate incidents were recorded during this period, showing a 9.5% rise in stolen funds compared to the previous quarter. However, there were 27 fewer incidents than in the second quarter, indicating a slight decrease in the number of attacks.
Three major events were responsible for most of the funds stolen during the quarter. The largest incidents included a $238 million phishing attack targeting a Bitcoin whale, a $231 million hack of India-based centralized exchange WazirX, and an individual investor falling victim to a phishing scam resulting in a $55.4 million loss.
Despite the high losses, around $30.9 million was recovered across nine incidents, reducing the adjusted net losses to around $722 million for the quarter.
Phishing attacks and private key compromises were the most dominant attack methods used by malicious actors during the third quarter. Phishing alone caused losses exceeding $343 million in 65 cases, while private key compromise ranked second with over $324 million lost across 10 cases.
Ethereum was the most targeted blockchain network, with 86 hacks and scams resulting in losses of over $387 million. The Bitcoin network followed closely behind, with $238 million stolen in a single phishing incident. Multi-chain platforms and other blockchain networks like Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Cosmos, Scroll, Solana, Base, Blast, and Optimism also suffered significant losses during this period.
Overall, the third quarter of the year saw a sharp increase in crypto-related hacks and scams, highlighting the ongoing need for enhanced security measures in the cryptocurrency space. It is crucial for users to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to protect their assets from malicious actors.