September becomes the biggest month for crypto exploits in 2023: CertiK
The Mixin Network cross-chain protocol accounted for almost two-thirds of the crypto exploit losses in September.
September has officially become the worst month in 2023 (so far) for crypto-related exploits — with a whopping $329.8 million in crypto stolen.
On Oct. 2, blockchain security firm CertiK said the most significant contributor to the month’s totals came from the Mixin Network attack on Sept. 23, when the Hong Kong-based decentralized cross-chain transfer protocol lost $200 million due to a breach of its cloud service provider.
Combining all the incidents in September we’ve confirmed ~$332M lost to exploits, hacks and scams.
Exit scams were ~$1.9M
Flash loans were ~$0.4M
Exploits were ~$329.8M
See more details below pic.twitter.com/DMFN9LWU8V
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) September 30, 2023
Other major incidents for the month included the attacks on the CoinEx exchange and Stake.com, resulting in losses of $53 million and $41 million, respectively.
As reported by Cointelegraph, North Korean hacking collective the Lazarus Group has been fingered for both attacks. The latest figures from Dune Analytics claim that the group currently holds $45.6 million in crypto assets.
The attack has taken the yearly total of crypto lost to exploits to $925.4 million. July was the second-highest month for exploit losses, with $285.8 million pilfered.
Meanwhile, the month also saw $1.9 million lost to exit scams, $400,000 to flash loan attacks and another $25 million to phishing attacks, according to CertiK.
The total lost in 2023 to exploits, scams and hacks has now totaled $1.34 billion.
Related: North Korean Lazarus Group amasses over $40M in Bitcoin, data reveals
According to blockchain security firm Beosin, total losses from hacks, phishing scams and exit scams were just under $890 million for the third quarter of 2023.
Losses in Q3 even exceeded the combined sum of the first two quarters, which was $330 million in Q1 and $333 million in Q2, Beosin reported late last week.
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