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Among the various illicit tactics utilized by criminals to seize other people’s cryptocurrency, phishing emerged as the most lucrative option in 2024.
The year 2024 experienced a total loss of $2.36 billion across 760 on-chain security incidents. This reflects a 31.61% increase compared to 2023.
An astounding $1.05 billion was lost solely due to phishing attacks in the past year—nearly half of the total amount, according to the latest report from blockchain security firm CertiK.
The perpetrators executed these thefts through 296 distinct incidents, which constitutes 39% of the overall number of attacks.
Additionally, only three of the nearly 300 incidents resulted in a loss exceeding $100 million.
Source: CertiK
According to the report, the figures indicate that phishing attacks, on average, “tend to result in larger sums stolen per incident than other vulnerabilities.”
Each of the four quarters of last year recorded elevated levels of activity related to phishing attacks and private key theft. However, Q2 experienced the highest loss of $433.7 million across 67 phishing attacks.
Phishing remains prevalent due to its ease and effectiveness, as stated in the report. It is less about technological safeguards and more about human susceptibility.
Blockchain transactions render phishing “particularly catastrophic” since they are irreversible.
In 2024, hackers returned less than $213.33 million.
The statistics for 2024 are in, and the Web3 ecosystem encounters substantial challenges. Over $2.36B was taken during 760 incidents, representing a 31.61% rise from the previous year.
Explore the 2024 Hack3d Report to uncover the insights that shaped the year and what lies ahead.pic.twitter.com/86QyfYia8M
— CertiK (@CertiK) January 2, 2025
Private key theft also proved to be lucrative. These breaches ranked second on the list of the most expensive attack vectors.
In total, thieves pilfered $855,385,570 across 65 incidents of this nature.
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Ethereum and BSC Were the Most ‘Phished’
Between 2022 and 2023, phishing losses surged by 244.41%, the report revealed.
In 2024, Ethereum experienced the highest number of security incidents overall, with 403 of the total 760 hacks, scams, and exploits. The losses reached $748,688,677.
Consequently, Ethereum was also the most targeted chain for phishing attacks. Such an attack resulted in losses exceeding $297.5 million on Ethereum across 248 incidents.
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ranked as the second-most targeted chain concerning phishing scams.
Source: CertiK
Overall, across all attack vectors, assailants also “heavily focused” on Bitcoin and Tron.
These two chains suffered losses of $542.7 million and $133 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, 39 security breaches impacting multiple chains resulted in $435 million in losses.
The third quarter of 2024—similar to the third quarter of 2023—was the hardest hit. It recorded 157 incidents and incurred a loss of $753.3 million.
However, when examining losses on a monthly basis, May emerged as “the most expensive month of the year,” losing $444.4 million across 63 incidents.
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The post Phishing and Private Key Theft Made Attackers Most Money in 2024 appeared first on Cryptonews.
