Blockchain
Are your holdings safe? Hack attacks on cryptocurrencies increase by 666% in May, $575 million STOLEN
Imagine waking up to find your cryptocurrency trading account drained! In May 2024, the cryptocurrency world was rocked by a wave of hacking. According to blockchain analytics firm Peckshield, nearly 30 incidents have seen a staggering $574.6 million vanish.
This alarming figure represents a staggering 666% increase over the $385 million stolen in April 2024. A significant portion of these stolen funds were laundered through Tornado Cash, a platform that hides sender information, making it a tool favored by cyber criminals.
Want to know how the hackers managed to do it? Continue reading…
Tornado Cash: Cybercriminals’ favorite mixer
Tornado Cash is designed to improve the anonymity of transactions by mixing deposits and distributing them to various addresses, making it incredibly difficult to trace the origins of funds. This mechanism is why cybercriminals favor it for laundering stolen cryptocurrencies into real money.
Recently, US authorities sanctioned Tornado Cash and its founder, Roman, was sentenced to a long-term prison sentence for laundering billions of cryptocurrencies.
Top five hacks of May 2024
1. DMM Bitcoin: $305 million
The biggest hack of the month targeted Japanese digital currency trader DMM Bitcoin. Hackers exploited the vulnerabilities to steal 4,502 BTC, worth $305 million, marking one of the most significant thefts in the history of centralized exchanges.
2. Gala Games: $212 million
Blockchain gaming company Gala Games has suffered a massive loss of $212 million due to a sophisticated exploit. Cybercriminals managed to earn $22 million before most of the stolen funds were recovered.
3. Sonne Finance: $20 million
Sonne Finance was hit by a complex flash loan attack and scammed out of $20 million. The platform is actively involved in asset returns and has already improved its security approach to prevent such attacks.
4. Drained Coinbase Account: $18 Million.
Coinbase users have been victims of account thefts, with attackers stealing $18 million through phishing tactics. This incident highlights the need for stronger account protection measures.
5. A Whale: $8.2 million
A single whale with a significant amount of cryptocurrency was frivolously attacked and $8.2 million was lost. The work carried out to trace the stolen money has helped clarify further details about this particular attack.
Stay safe out there!
In order for these threats to be addressed, cybersecurity firms and cryptocurrency exchanges should start using more secure methods to protect data through encryption, using more than one type of authentication, and real-time monitoring to detect instances of intrusion.
To allow users to improve their security, it may be helpful to have hardware wallets to store cryptocurrencies, run a two-factor authentication process, and be on the lookout for phishing scams.
Help us spread awareness! Share this article with your friends and family who own cryptocurrencies.
Also check: DeFi under attack! $10 million disappears from Velocore DEX in shocking cryptocurrency attack