2022 was the largest 12 months ever for cryptocurrency hacking with at the very least $3.8 billion stolen primarily from DeFi protocols and by North Korea-linked attackers, based on a brand new report by Chainalysis.
Of their annual report on crypto crime tendencies, Chainalysis mentioned hacking exercise ebbed and flowed all year long, with enormous spikes in March and October.
DeFi protocols as victims accounted for 81.2% of all cryptocurrency stolen by hackers, a complete of $3.1 billion, up from 73.3% in 2021. Of that $3.1 billion, 64% got here from cross-chain bridge protocols, a pretty “honeypot” for hackers.
READ: Do Kwon charged with crypto fraud for multibillion-dollar Terra LUNA collapse
The report famous that North Korea-linked hackers, similar to these within the cybercriminal syndicate Lazarus Group, shattered their very own document for theft in 2022, stealing an estimated $1.7 billion of cryptocurrency throughout the a number of hacks attributed to them by Chainalysis.
“North Korea’s whole exports in 2020 totalled $142 million price of products, so it isn’t a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a large chunk of the nation’s financial system,” the report mentioned.
Regardless of the cryptocurrency market downturn throughout 2022, illicit transaction quantity rose for the second 12 months, hitting an all-time excessive of $20.6 billion.
43% of this illicit transaction quantity got here from exercise related to sanctioned entities, the report famous.
When it comes to cash laundering, illicit addresses despatched almost $23.8 billion price of cryptocurrency in 2022, a 68% improve over 2021.
The report mentioned that mainstream centralized exchanges had been the largest recipient of illicit cryptocurrency, however famous extra illicit funds had been despatched to DeFi protocols than ever earlier than, a continuation of a development that started in 2020.
Victims refusing to pay ransomware attackers
Cryptocurrency ransomware payouts fell 40.3% in 2022, with at the very least $456.8 million extorted from victims, down from $765.6 million within the earlier 12 months, based on the report.
“Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply assaults are down, or at the very least not as a lot because the drastic dropoff in funds would recommend,” it mentioned. “We imagine a lot of the decline is because of sufferer organizations more and more refusing to pay ransomware attackers.”
The report cited cyber insurance coverage agency Resilient chief claims officer Michael Phillips who mentioned that there have been indicators that significant disruptions in opposition to ransomware actor teams are driving lower-than-expected profitable extortion makes an attempt.
These disruptions included the Russia-Ukraine battle and the elevated strain on ransomware gangs from Western regulation enforcement, together with arrests and the restoration of extorted cryptocurrency, Phillips mentioned within the report.
Contact the writer at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
Observe her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie