Blockchain technology has been getting a lot of attention because it could change many industries. One reason people like blockchain is because it is supposed to be secure. This means that it is hard to change data without people knowing and it is hard to fake data. However, like any technology, blockchain can be hacked.
The Atlas VPN team found that in 2022, blockchain hackers stole over $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.
Cybercriminals have been targeting blockchain bridges and the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem, which together 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 encountered a loss of $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in just 16 events. Ronin Network sidechain bridge experienced the biggest hack of the year, as 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 about $588 million in an attack on BNBChain, which is the second-biggest hack of the year. The Ethereum ecosystem experienced 49 events resulting in losses of over $500 million in cryptocurrencies.
Other crypto-related projects and people were victims of 48 hacks, which led 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 nearly $90 million.
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 its customers’ money is not mentioned here but is considered a fraudulent exchange by most crypto experts.
Blockchain hacks are increasing
Even though the value of cryptocurrencies fell in 2022, criminals are still trying to hack into blockchain networks and exchanges to get money. As more companies start using blockchain technology, the hackers can make even more money by successful attacks.
In 2022, there were 301 events caused by cybercriminals and scammers. 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 was more than any other quarter at that time and hackers stole over $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. However, in the second quarter, there were 98 events, which was 24% more than the previous quarter. Despite that, cybercriminals only stole $800 million from 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 (Q3) of the year, there were 56 blockchain hacks, which is 43% lower than in Q2. However, even though the crypto market is still down overall, scammers and hackers have come up with more schemes in Q4, resulting in 68 incidents and over $1 billion in stolen profit.
As blockchain technology becomes more common, we will see more hacking attempts against these systems.
Read next: Businesses in North America doubled their spending on payment fraud prevention in 2022
