The Surprising State of Crypto Exchange Hacks in 2019
A recent report by Chainalysis has unveiled a peculiar trend in the world of cryptocurrency exchange hacks for 2019. While the number of hacking incidents has risen, the total amount of digital dough snatched away has plummeted. It’s like finding out that even though more pie got thrown at the party, fewer people actually managed to eat any! What gives?
How Does Chainalysis Calculate Hacks?
The Chainalysis report narrows its focus strictly to hacks on exchange platforms, leaving out wallet providers and payment processors – kind of like ensuring your survey only targets fans who genuinely appreciate pineapple on pizza. They delve into various types of hacks, including:
- Technical vulnerabilities
- Deceptive social engineering attacks
- Confirmed hacks with measurable value
For this year, 11 hacks were documented, with a total of a whopping $105 million being that sweet prize resulting from the Coinbene incident. Get ready, though – the average amount stolen per hack has decreased dramatically from the previous year’s $146 million to just $26 million!
Let’s Talk Numbers: What Happened?
It seems hackers had some naughty fun in 2019, but most of their loot didn’t quite hit the jackpot like in years past. For a quick rundown:
- 11 total hacks
- Average theft per attack: $26 million
- Most profitable hack: Coinbene with $105 million
- Only half of the hacks crossed the $10 million threshold
Chainalysis suggests that the rise in attacks could worry us, but hey – the fact that fewer funds were hijacked reflects that exchanges are seriously upping their security game.
Where Does All That Stolen Crypto End Up?
In the wild world of digital currency, once crypto gets lifted, it often takes a journey through various exchanges before it potentially finds a home in a bank account. Chainalysis points out that while a good amount of stolen funds may sit dormant (maybe waiting for that perfect cryptocurrency market revival?), law enforcement has a better shot at tracing these elusive hackers. That said, the bad guys have learned some tricks too. They use third-party mixers or CoinJoin wallets to muddy the waters, making it challenging to trace the origin of their ill-gotten gains.
Exchanges Adapt: The Silver Lining
Apparently, exchanges aren’t just sitting back and letting the hackers have free reign. They’re adapting and evolving their security measures. Some strategies they’ve implemented:
- Keeping a lower percentage of funds in hot wallets
- Enhanced withdrawal authorizations
- Heightened scrutiny of suspicious activities
However, it’s worth noting that criminals like the infamous Lazarus Group seem to be stepping up their game as well, utilizing more sophisticated techniques for both the actual attacks and the laundering of their plunder.
+ There are no comments
Add yours