Hackers have doubled their cryptocurrency loot in the first half of 2024 compared to last year, a report by blockchain research firm TRM Labs shows.
According to the report, hackers looted $1.38 billion worth of cryptocurrencies between January 1 and June 24, more than double the $657 million stolen during the same period last year.
And just like last year, a handful of major attacks drove up the amount of stolen cryptocurrencies, with the five largest breaches accounting for 70 percent of the amount stolen in the first half of the year.
The company said the top attack vectors in 2024 include private key and seed phrase compromises.
A seed phrase is a string of random words that stores information needed to access or recover a cryptocurrency wallet.
The biggest heist so far this year netted over $300 million from Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin
Hackers used stolen private keys or address poisoning, where attackers send a small amount of cryptocurrency from a wallet with a similar address that is designed to mimic your address or the recipient's address, with the goal of tricking the victim into sending funds to the wrong wallet.
