DeFi Hack Threats Remain High Despite 50% Decline in 2023: Halborn Report
Date: 2024-08-13 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
Despite a 50% decline in the total amount of funds stolen from the DeFi sector compared to last year, the threat remains significant, according to a report from blockchain security firm Halborn. The report covers the 100 largest DeFi hacks from 2016 to 2023, which cost a total of $7.4 billion. The largest number of attacks occurred on platforms such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon.
While most attacks were carried out using smart contract vulnerabilities, price manipulation, and governance attacks, there was a noticeable increase in off-chain attacks such as private key theft. In 2023, such attacks accounted for 56.5% of all incidents and resulted in the loss of 57.5% of the total amount of stolen funds.
An important point that Halborn notes is that only 21% of hacked protocols used multi-signature wallets, which provide additional security by requiring transactions to be approved by multiple parties at the same time.
Halborn also points out that most smart contract attacks occurred on protocols that were not audited. The main reason for losses in such hacks was insufficient verification or validation of input data.
Interchain bridges continue to pose a particular danger, as they are one of the main targets for attackers. Halborn recommends carefully reviewing the code before using such solutions.
An example is the recent Ronin bridge hack, which resulted in the theft of $12 million. This incident occurred two years after a similar attack on the same protocol, in which $625 million was stolen.
According to a report from Immunefi published earlier this year, hackers stole $473 million in the first half of 2024, confirming the continued high level of malicious activity in the DeFi sector.
