Crypto hackers steal $753M in Q3 2024 as losses rise by 9.5%

Crypto hacking losses surged by 9.5% in the third quarter of 2024, with a total of $753 million stolen across 155 incidents, according to a report from cybersecurity firm CertiK published on October 1. 

While the number of reported crypto hacks declined, the financial impact of the attacks increased significantly. 

The Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) network was the hardest hit, suffering 86 hacks, scams, and exploits, which accounted for over $387 million of the total losses. 

The largest incident occurred on August 19 when a Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) whale lost 4,064 Bitcoin, worth approximately $238 million, due to a wallet compromise. 

Another major breach took place at India-based crypto exchange WazirX (CRYPTO:WRX), where over $235 million was stolen, contributing significantly to the quarter's overall losses. 

In 2024, hackers have stolen nearly $2 billion from crypto investors, with each quarter seeing a substantial increase. 

The first quarter recorded $505 million in stolen assets across 224 attacks, while the second quarter saw an escalation to $687 million in losses. 

Despite this trend, recovery efforts have dwindled. 

Only 4.1% of stolen funds were recovered in the third quarter, down from 14.4% in the previous quarter. 

According to CertiK, phishing emerged as the most common and costly method of attack, responsible for $343 million in losses from 65 incidents. 

Phishing scams typically deceive users by posing as legitimate institutions to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or private keys. 

"To avoid these attacks, users should be cautious of unsolicited messages, verify website URLs, and enable two-factor authentication (2FA)," CertiK advised. 

Additionally, private key compromises accounted for $324 million in losses across just 10 incidents, while other attack methods included code vulnerabilities, reentrancy events, and price manipulation schemes.