No ‘respite’ for exploits, flash loans or exit scams in 2023: cybersecurity firm

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The new year is a fresh start for malicious actors in the crypto space and 2023 is unlikely to see a slowdown in scams, exploits and hacks, according to CertiK.

The blockchain security firm told Cointelegraph its expectations for the coming year regarding bad actors in the space, saying:

We’ve seen a slew of incidents over the past year despite the crypto bear market, so we don’t expect any respite from exploits, flash loans, or exit scams.

As for other malicious incidents the crypto community might face, the company highlighted the devastating exploits that took place on cross-chain bridges in 2022. Of the top 10 exploits during the year, six were bridge exploits that stole an estimated $1.4 billion.

Due to these historically high yields, CertiK noted the likelihood of further attempts by hackers targeting bridges in 2023.

Protect your keys

On the other hand, CertiK said there are likely to be fewer brute force attacks on crypto wallets, given that the vulnerability in the Profanity tool that has been used to attack a number of crypto wallets in the past is now widely known.

The Profanity tool allows users to generate custom crypto addresses. A vulnerability in the tool was used to mine $160 million worth of crypto in the September 2022 Wintermute hack, according to CertiK.

Instead, wallet compromises this year will likely come in the form of poor user security, indicating:

It is possible that funds lost due to private key compromises in 2023 are due to poor management of private keys, except for any future vulnerabilities found in wallet generators.

The company said it will also monitor phishing techniques that may proliferate in the new year. He noted the slew of Discord group hacks in mid-2022 that tricked participants into clicking on phishing links such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Discord hack in June 2022 that stole 145 Ether (ETH ).

Related: Revoke Your Smart Contract Approvals ASAP, Crypto Investor Warns

Last year, $2.1 billion worth of crypto was stolen in the 10 largest incidents alone, while in 2021 a total of $10.2 billion was stolen from decentralized finance protocols ( DeFi) according to peer security firm ImmuneFi.

The biggest incident of 2022, and the biggest crypto heist of all time, was the Ronin Bridge exploit with attackers who got away with around $612 million. The biggest flash loan attack was the $76 million exploit from Beanstalk Farms and the biggest DeFi protocol exploit was the $79.3 million stolen from Rari Capital.

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