November brought a series of concerning hack attacks and fraud incidents to the cryptocurrency sector, culminating in the highest financial loss of the year. A report by blockchain security company CertiK highlights an alarming trend of escalating threats in the crypto sector.
Major Crypto Hacks and Scams of November
According to CertiK, one of the biggest crypto hacks in November involved the targeting of the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, resulting in the theft of approximately $131.4 million. The attack is believed to have been carried out by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus, through the sophisticated acquisition of private keys.
Another significant hack involved the HTX and Heco bridges owned by Justin Sun, with over $100 million withdrawn from two hot wallets. The third major hack was a flash loan attack on the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange KyberSwap, which resulted in approximately $45 million being extracted from liquidity pools, exposing new methods used by hackers in the crypto sector.
Other notable crypto hack attacks and frauds include a phishing scam that stole $27 million from a single victim and a $25 million loss incurred by Kronos Research due to compromised API keys.
Cumulative losses for November reached a staggering sum with $316.4 million from direct hacks, $45.5 million from flash loan attacks, and $1.1 million from rug pull scams. These figures are part of a disturbing trend where losses from hack attacks have already surpassed $1.7 billion for the year. However, the losses so far this year are still lower compared to the $3.7 billion stolen in 2022 due to crypto hack attacks and scams.
Uncertainty Looms Over Crypto World
Platforms affected by the hack attacks and scams throughout the month have initiated comprehensive investigations and reported actively working to enhance security measures. The industry now faces not only the task of addressing these immediate concerns but also the challenge of anticipating and protecting against the evolving tactics of cybercriminals.
The rise in sophisticated attacks such as SIM swaps and multi-signature vulnerabilities indicates that traditional security methods like smart contract audits may no longer be sufficient. Efforts to strengthen the security infrastructure of the cryptocurrency industry are crucial in restoring user trust and ensuring the long-term viability and safety of crypto platforms.
