How the crypto industry plans to combat cyberfraud
The pandemic, the shift to remote working, and global digitalization have stimulated not only the market for IT services but also a surge in cybercrime. The increase in hacking and data theft has affected not only businesses and ordinary users. Experts note that the crypto industry also suffers from fraudsters. Since the beginning of the year, it has lost about $1.22 billion because of hacks. This figure is 695% higher than in the previous period.
About 99% of all cases involved software exploits. Among them, Wormhole and Ronin were the biggest hacks of the year. Losses on the first platform amounted to $319 million, and on the second – $625 million. According to analysts, such cyberattacks are not the exception, but rather the harsh reality that the entire crypto-world will have to face. Now there is a trend of increasing crimes in this very industry while hacking investors is becoming less and less. Moreover, hackers are improving their skills, inventing different ways to bypass security systems, and there is an increase in DeFi hacks. What makes the situation worse is that such hacks are extremely profitable.
The maximum growth of the cryptocurrency market was recorded in November last year. After that, the number of newly registered users began to decrease. Thanks to such processes, investors can protect themselves from fraudsters by working with regular customers or those who have experience in interacting on exchanges.
The increase in DeFi-platforms has played an important role in the increase in cybercrime in the cryptocurrency market. Their number is regularly increasing, as is the influx of funds, which makes such resources an attractive target.
A number of traditional protocols, such as Ethereum, impose high fees, forcing users to look for other options. They turn their attention to protocols such as Avalanche, Polkadot, and Solana, which provide a high level of protection. However, unfortunately, it is not always enough, as security specialists do not have time to monitor and counter all the innovations from hackers. In addition, many bitcoin protocols do not consider the risk of hacking a priority, so they invest enough in protection.
According to experts, crypto industry programmers should unite now in order to work together to develop effective methods to combat cybercrime. Various educational programs, benefits, and grants for specialists can be an excellent opportunity for this. This issue is extremely urgent for the sphere, as evidenced by the figures. Last year the total damage to the cryptocurrency market by hackers was $14 billion. Considering the trends, this figure may be several times higher in the current period.
