Blockchain hackers have stolen $13.6B since 2012, report reveals

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Hackers targeting blockchain applications have made away with $13.6 billion in the past decade, a new report has revealed. EOS DApps have been the most popular targets, accounting for 36% of all attacks, while attacks targeting digital currency wallets have been the most successful.

The report was published by VPN provider Atlas VPN. Having analyzed data ‘over a lifetime’, the Atlas team revealed that cybercriminals had conducted 330 blockchain hacks, making $13.6 billion. EOS DApp providers faced the most attacks with 117 breaches. Altogether, the hacks led to the loss of $28.28 million, approximately $241,758 per breach.

Digital currency exchanges were second, facing 87 attacks in that time. However, unlike EOS DApp attacks, exchange breaches were more disastrous for the victims, with $4.82 billion lost to hackers, averaging $55 million per hack.

Even more profitable for hackers were attacks on digital currency wallets. Since 2012, there have been 36 hacks on wallets, but they account for the largest share of lost funds at $7.19 billion. A single breach on a digital currency wallet made the hackers $200 million on average, the report noted.

Ethereum DApps saw 33 successful attacks, with each costing the users $11 million. The hackers also targeted blockchains themselves with 28 successful attacks since 2012. Each attack on a blockchain averaged $1.6 million, the Atlas team revealed.

The report had some positive news as well, revealing that hacks targeting the blockchain industry had dropped in 2020. In the first half of the year, the number of successful hacks stood at 31, three times lower than the same period in 2019 which saw 94 attacks. 2019 was the worst year in regards to attacks, with hackers conducting 133 successful attacks. However, the 2020 number is bound to rise since there are still two more months to go.

“Nevertheless, based on the historical data, it seems that 2020 will not reach the record heights of last year, and blockchain hacks will remain on the decline.”

This year, the biggest hack has been the KuCoin exploit that saw the exchange lose $275 million. DeFi platforms have also become popular targets, with Opyn losing an unknown amount in August and Harvest Protocol losing $24 million last month. Slovakian exchange Eterbase also lost $5.3 million in a September hack.

See also: CoinGeek Live panel on the Future of Digital Asset Security & Custody