Hacking Attacks Soar in October and 2022 Should Beat Cryptocurrency Theft Record

With four new hacks reported this week, $718 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen from 11 different DeFi protocols this month, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

This means that in just two weeks, October has become the biggest month this year for hacking attacks.

This brings the year count to $3 billion stolen in 125 different hacks, according to Chainalysis. It also puts 2022 on track to surpass the all-time high of $3.2 billion of cryptocurrency funds diverted last year.

The latest hacks include $100 million stolen from Mango Markets, a Solana DeFi trading platform; a $1 million exploit stolen from the bridge connecting the QANplatform to the Ethereum network; and a hack of $2.3 million in tokens stolen from TempleDAO.

An exploit was also identified on Rabby Wallet, an Ethereum wallet service, on Tuesday. The full scope of the exploit has yet to be disclosed, but the project team said on Twitter this morning that it “requested a negotiation with the hacker.”

Within 2 days of the exploit for Rabby Swap contract, we've been investigating closely with security agencies. We've made some progress and discovered many traces of the hack.

To ensure a sooner return of funds for affected users, we've requested a negotiation with the hacker. pic.twitter.com/xvhqZppZIQ

— Rabby Wallet (@Rabby_io) October 13, 2022

DeFi Hacks Get Worse in 2022

It didn’t always look like 2022 was going to be a big year for crypto thieves.

There was a flurry of activity in the first five months of the year as criminals stole $1.7 billion — most of it from DeFi.

But the attacks fell as the market reacted to the collapse of the Terra project and the bankruptcies of Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital and Celsius.

In August, Chainalysis published an update to say that illicit activity had dropped 15% in volume as most forms of “cryptocurrency-based crime” dropped with the rest of the market.

But the attacks came back in a big way.

“At bridges remain a top target for hackers,” Chainalysis wrote on Twitter, “with three bridges breached this month and nearly $600 million stolen, representing 82% of losses this month and 64% of losses all year.”

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