In April 2024, the crypto sector witnessed a remarkable reduction in the frequency of hacks, with incidents decreasing by over 65%. However, the financial impact of these breaches remains alarmingly high.
Despite fewer attacks, this condition continues to pose significant risks to investors due to cybersecurity’s complexities and high stakes in the crypto space. To provide a broader picture of the crypto hack market, BeInCrypto has compiled data from various blockchain security platforms.
April 2024 Crypto Losses: Down Overall, But Still Significant This Week
According to the SlowMist Weekly Security Report from April 28 to May 4, 2024, the total losses from crypto-related security incidents amounted to $71.39 million. A significant event that week involved a crypto whale losing 1,155 WBTC, valued at approximately $70 million.
“Surprisingly, it wasn’t due to a sophisticated technical flaw or complex phishing scam, but rather a simple error that could have been effortlessly prevented with the implementation of a whitelist,” SlowMist wrote.
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Last week, aside from the crypto whale’s substantial loss, several other incidents rattled the community. Allegations of a rug pull involving NOVAMIND (NMD) surfaced, where around $123,000 was reportedly siphoned off.
Pike Finance also faced a security exploit that led to losses totaling about $1.68 million due to vulnerabilities in its contract functions.
In another notable incident, the Bitfinex platform addressed rumors of a data breach involving 400,000 customers. However, after a thorough investigation, Bitfinex’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, refuted these claims.
“We’re performing deep analysis of our systems and no breach was found currently. Also the KYC platform has heavy rate limiting that would disallow downloading in bulk. While we believe this is pure FUD we’ll keep reviewing information to ensure no stone remains unturned. Funds are safe,” Ardoino said.
Additionally, Dune Analytics, a popular blockchain data analysis platform, suffered from a compromised Twitter account. This incident briefly misled the community with a fake airdrop announcement.
Next on the list is an exploitation targeting Yield Protocol’s Arbitrum contract. The exploitation actor manipulated discrepancies between pool token balances and total supply. This manipulation allowed the hacker to withdraw approximately $181,000 worth of crypto assets.
Another significant breach also occurred in the Ember Sword NFT auction, where the actor exploited a known vulnerability again. This breach impacted numerous users and led to losses of roughly $195,000.
Additionally, a report from blockchain intelligence firm PeckShield highlights a significant decrease in losses for April 2024. Total losses have dropped to approximately $60.2 million. This represents a 67% reduction compared to the previous month.
PeckShield’s April security roundup further details several significant security breaches. First, HedgeyFinance suffered the hardest hit, losing about $47.35 million.
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The loss was mainly in Bonus balance. The actor behind the HedgeyFinance incident laundered some of the stolen funds through the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
FixedFloat also encountered a $3 million loss due to an exploit, while GrandBase faced a $2.67 million loss. Meanwhile, both ZestProtocol and XBridge reported breaches, each losing around $1 million.
Besides the hacks, PeckShield also highlights other incidents. ZKasino was implicated in a $32 million rug pull, transferring approximately 9,000 ETH to three addresses. PacFinance also experienced significant financial damage, with $24 million in liquidations.
Despite the encouraging news of reduced hacking incidents, the severity of the losses from these fewer events highlights the evolving nature of cyber threats targeting the cryptocurrency sector. Investors are advised to remain vigilant, adopting stringent security measures such as verifying transaction addresses, scrutinizing potential airdrops, and utilizing reputable wallets with robust security features.
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