BankInfoSecurity.com reported that “Law enforcement and regulatory action over the past year in the United States most likely dissuaded hackers from stealing cryptocurrency, making the amount stolen in the first quarter of the year the lowest compared to each of the four quarters in 2022.” The May 23, 2023 article entitled ” Sharp Decline in Crypto Hacks in Q1 2023 Unlikely to Last” included these comments “In comparison, hackers stole $4 billion in 2022”:
Hackers siphoned off $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 40 hacks in the first three months of 2023, TRM Labs said. The amount of stolen funds in Q1 2023 is 70% lower and the average hack size down to $10.5 million from $30 million year-over-year.
This slowdown, TRM Labs said, is “most likely a temporary reprieve rather than a long-term trend.”
A “few” large-scale attacks can cause a dramatic change in the total amount stolen. Just 10 hacks in 2022 accounted for 75% of the total amount stolen in the year, TRM Labs said. Individual quarter numbers also offer “poor predictions” for a yearlong trend, the firm said. The Q1 2023 numbers mirror those of Q3 2022. Hacks in Q4 2022 turned 2022 into a record year for crypto hacking.
What do you think?
First published at https://www.vogelitlaw.com/blog/crypto-hacks-in-2023-have-declined-in-2023-but-likely-to-increase