Crypto hacking incidents decreased in Q1 2024 – Immunefi

In the year According to a March 28 research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi, the cryptocurrency industry saw a 23% loss in hacking and fraud in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023.

According to the report The total amount lost to hacking and fraud in Q1 2024 was nearly $336.3 million, down from $437.5 million in the same quarter of 2023.

The report revealed 46 cases of hacking and 15 cases of fraud.

With nearly $100 billion in total value locked up in Web3 protocols, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms remain a prime target for hackers, accounting for 100% of exploits identified by Immunefi in Q1, compared to zero for centralized (CeFi) platforms.

Two projects accounted for the largest losses, accounting for 43% of the total losses of $144.5 million. The largest attack, worth $81.7 million, targeted the Orbit Bridge, a cross-chain bridge protocol, on New Year's Eve. January saw the largest monthly losses in Q1, totaling $133 million.

Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador emphasized the vulnerability of DeFi platforms to private key breaches, highlighting the need for improved security measures in code and protocol infrastructure.

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At the end of the quarter, the second largest attack involved a $62 million exploit against Blast-based NFT game Munchables. However, recovery occurred within 24 hours when the hacker handed over the private keys to the wallet containing the Munchables assets.

In total, $73.9 million (22%) was recovered from seven exploits in Q1. The number of attacks also decreased by 17.6 percent, from 74 in Q1 2023 to 61 this year.

In Q1, hacking dominated with 95.6% ($321.6 million) across 46 incidents, while fraud, fraud, and carpet dragging accounted for 4.4% ($14.7 million) over 15 incidents. Ethereum regained its position as the most targeted chain, surpassing the BNB Chain, with both networks accounting for 73% of the total losses.

Ethereum experienced the highest number of attacks, with 33 incidents, with 51% losses. BNB Chain experienced 12 attacks, representing 22% of the stolen funds. Other incidents occurred at Arbitrum, Solana, Optimism, Bitcoin, Blast, Polygon, Conflux Network and Base.

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