Blockchain security firm CertiK has published an official security report on the state of crypto exploits. The report highlights how September 2023 marks a staggering new milestone of roughly $329 million in crypto and digital assets compromised over a number of exploits.
According to the report, the most notable contributor to September's losses was the , which suffered a breach of its cloud service provider, resulting in a devastating $200 million loss. Additionally, attacks on the exchange and led to losses of $53 million and $41 million, respectively. The , a North Korean hacking collective, has been impkicated in these attacks, with the group reportedly holding $45.6 million in crypto assets.
These developments have brought the total losses due to exploits in 2023 to a concerning $925.4 million, with July standing as the second-highest month for exploit losses at $285.8 million. Apart from direct exploits, other crypto-related incidents in September included $1.9 million lost to exit scams, $400,000 to flash loan attacks, and an additional $25 million to phishing attacks, as reported by . Cumulative losses incurred throughout 2023 due to exploits, scams, and hacks have reached an alarming $1.34 billion.
To this writer, it remains that while blockchain technology offers immense promise, it is vulnerable to an array of threats and threat actors exploiting these very same vulnerabilities. As such, these exploits are indicative of the evolving sophistication of threat actors working within the crypto space, as evidenced by the involvement of groups like the Lazarus Group.
This ostensibly relentless pursuit of digital assets has led to audacious attacks on both decentralized platforms and centralized exchanges, and as such demands the same degree of fortitude from the sector's policymakers and security firms. One could claim that the best way forward is to maintain a commitment towards transparency, education, and security-oriented best practices, especially those that can be taught to and followed by users, and kept as standards by crypto protocols and blockchain firms.
