Data: In 2023, 57.5% of the stolen amount was due to off-chain hacker attacks

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, a report from blockchain security company Halborn shows that although the amount stolen in 2023 has decreased, decentralized finance (DeFi) hacking remains a major threat to the industry.

The report summarizes the 100 largest DeFi hacking incidents that occurred between 2016 and 2023, with a total amount reaching $7.4 billion, most of which took place on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon. While on-chain hacks (including smart contract exploits, price manipulation, and governance attacks) are the most common, off-chain attacks such as private key theft account for 29% of total attacks and 34.6% of stolen funds. In 2023, off-chain attacks accounted for 56.5% of total attacks and 57.5% of the stolen amount.

The report adds that only 21% of the hacked protocols used multi-signature wallets. Most on-chain attacks occurred on unaudited protocols, and the lack of proper input validation or confirmation in protocols is a major reason for losses due to smart contract exploits. Cross-chain bridges remain a primary attack vector for malicious actors.