November was a remarkable month for the crypto industry. The most notable events were CZ’s resignation from Binance and the exchange’s $4.5 billion settlement with the DOJ.
However, November was also the most “damaging” month this year in terms of crypto scams, thieves, and fraud. Let’s explore more about the crypto hacks that happened in November.
What Happened in Crypto Security on November 2023?
Certik, a Blockchain security expert company, said crypto criminals got away with an alarming $363 million in November alone. Certik notes that exploits on exchanges accounted for $316.4 million, while flash loans incurred $45.5 million in damage. Different types of exit scams were responsible for $1.1 million.
According to CertiK, the three biggest events of November were the KyberSwap flash loan, the HTX/Heco Bridge, and the Poloniex attacks. The aggregate losses incurred by Poloniex and HTX/Heco Bridge were $131.4 million and $113.3 million, respectively. The report notes that the KyberSwap attack accounted for almost all the flash loan attacks this month.
Combining all the incidents in November we’ve confirmed ~$363M lost to exploits, hacks and scams
This makes November the most damaging month this year
Exit scams were ~$1.1M
Flash loans were ~$45.5M
Exploits were ~$316.4M
See more details below 👇 pic.twitter.com/QoDy6d8IJH
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) November 30, 2023
Also, DeFi research firm, Kronos Research, suffered one of the notable hacks in November 2023. An attacker compromised the private key of one of the platform’s admins, moving about $26 million in the process.
So, November’s figures have topped September’s high of $329 million, caused by the $200 million attack on the Mixin Network. While the crypto market has seen good signs in terms of price recovery, the activities of hackers have become a major concern.
📉 Crypto Losses Surge in November 2023 🚨
🔍 Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi reports over $343 million lost to hacks and fraud this month, marking the highest monthly losses of 2023.
💔 Year-to-date losses reach $1.75 billion across 296 incidents, with a stark 15x increase…
— Spark (@0xSparkle) December 1, 2023
Then, approximately $1.7 billion had already been lost to exit scams, exploits, and flash loan attacks in 2023. According to CertiK, this accounts for 54% of the total amount of cryptocurrency lost in 2022—a total of $3.7 billion due to crypto events. The figures were much lower in 2021 ($1.7 billion).
Why are Crypto Hacks on the Rise?
Crypto experts believe the rising cases of hacks could be caused by the inadequate security procedures on most protocols. Recent studies have found that crypto exchanges are the prime targets of most hacking events.
These hackers employ advanced tactics to launch their assaults on platforms. Some of their strategies include using fake websites and emails, phishing schemes, and posing as legitimate crypto businesses or sites.
⚡️Top 10 Crypto Protocols Exploits in November
During November 2023, the crypto industry saw a loss of $343M across the web3 ecosystem. According to @Immunefi's report, $335.5M was lost to hacks across 18 specific incidents, and $7.46M was lost to fraud across 23 specific… pic.twitter.com/MJegeBl8kp
— 🇺🇦 CryptoDep #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 (@Crypto_Dep) November 30, 2023
Conclusion
What’s the solution? The way out is for crypto protocols to employ advanced and better security standards. But on an individual level, each user has to learn to keep their assets safe. Some common safety practices include:
- Safeguarding your private keys
- Using multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Buying secure hardware wallets.
Fortunately, most crypto platforms are taking the subject of security seriously. So, it’s only a matter of time before these cases of scams and hacks come crashing down.
