In the third quarter of 2024, the value of crypto assets stolen surged to $753 million, despite a decrease in the number of reported hacking incidents, according to cybersecurity firm CertiK.
The report highlights a 9.5% increase in losses across 155 incidents, pointing to larger and more sophisticated attacks, particularly on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum-based projects were the hardest hit, accounting for 86 of the reported hacks, scams, and exploits.
These incidents led to over $387 million in losses, with the largest single attack occurring on August 19, when a Bitcoin whale lost 4,064 Bitcoin, valued at around $238 million, due to a wallet compromise.
Another major breach took place at the Indian exchange WazirX, which lost over $235 million to hackers.
The report also revealed that while the number of hacks has decreased compared to previous quarters, the size of individual attacks is growing.
This trend has contributed to nearly $2 billion in total losses in 2024 so far. In addition, the rate of recovery for stolen funds dropped significantly, with only 4.1% of assets recovered in the third quarter, compared to 14.4% in the previous quarter.
Phishing attacks emerged as the most common and damaging method, responsible for $343 million in losses across 65 incidents.
These scams often involve impersonating legitimate institutions to trick users into revealing sensitive information.
Private key compromises were also a major concern, leading to $324 million in losses across just 10 incidents.
CertiK urged crypto users to exercise caution by avoiding unsolicited messages, verifying URLs, and enabling two-factor authentication to safeguard their assets against phishing and other security threats.
