Ethereum in the Crosshairs as Q3 Sees $750M Stolen in Hacks: CertiK
Harvey Hunter is a Junior Content Creator at Cryptonews.com. With a background in Computer Science, IT, and Mathematics, he seamlessly transitioned from tech geek to crypto journalist.
Cyber security firm CertiK revealed that despite a decline in the number of hacks, the total value stolen soared to 750M Q3, with Ethereum as the top target.
In its latest Web3 Security Report, CertiK noted that Hackers managed to get away with $753 million across 155 incidents, bringing the year’s total losses to $2.2 billion.
This represents a 9.5% increase in the total value lost despite 27 fewer incidents compared to the previous quarter.
Despite fewer incidents, attacks have grown more severe, with phishing and private key compromises as the most prevalent attack vectors, contributing $668 million in losses.
Phishing alone caused $343 million in damages across 65 incidents.
A standout case involved a Bitcoin whale who suffered a $238 million loss in August, making it the single most significant phishing attack for Q3.
The attack compromised the whale’s wallet, and although some funds were recovered by the community, most of the stolen amount remains unaccounted for.
Private key compromises were responsible for approximately $317 million in losses across just 10 incidents. The most notable private key attack was on WazirX, one of India’s leading crypto exchanges.
In July, hackers exploited WazirX’s private key vulnerabilities, leading to the theft of $231 million across more than 200 cryptocurrencies, making it one of the most major breaches in Q3.
Of these losses, the report noted that only 4.1% of stolen funds were recovered this quarter, a sharp decline from the 14.4% recovered in Q2. Despite fewer incidents, the average loss per hack
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