Crypto hack losses declined 51% in 2023: Report

In 2023, 751 security incidents resulted in losing digital assets valued at $1.8 billion. The sum is still huge, but it is 51% less than what was lost to cyberattacks and other mishaps in 2022 $3.7 billion. 

The information is from the yearly report “Hack3d: The Web3 Security Report 2023” published by blockchain security company CertiK. The security firm put up a report on January 3 that summarizes the situation of Web3 security during the last 12 months.

The corporation stated in the report that the third quarter of 2023 had the highest losses, totaling more than $686 million. Furthermore, the most expensive attack vector remained to be compromised private keys. 

Over $880 million was lost in 47 instances in 2023 as a result of compromised private keys. 

Regarding blockchains, the Ethereum network experienced the greatest losses. The CertiK research states that Ethereum experienced 224 occurrences totaling $686 million in losses. According to this, the blockchain costs $3 million on average for each event. BNB Chain, on the other hand, noted 387 security incidents. But compared to Ethereum, the total losses were far smaller at about $134 million. 

Furthermore, a persistent issue in the cryptocurrency space is cross-chain interoperability. The security study stated that losses from security breaches impacting numerous blockchains totaled close to $800 million.  

According to CertiK co-founder Ronghui Gu, 2023 will be a “positive development” for blockchain security overall, he told Cointelegraph.

“It’s encouraging to see bug bounty schemes and other security preventative measures growing. It is hoped that losses will continue to decrease in 2024.

Gu noted that the overall bear market, which saw falling token and Treasury prices, is also responsible for the 51% decrease in losses. Gu thinks that the Web3 business is “learning its security lessons,” nonetheless if losses remain minimal throughout the bull run.