Web3 Lost Over $890 Million to Hacks and Scams in Q3 2023: Boesin

DeFi Web3

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Jai Pratap

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Jai Pratap

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Jai serves as the Asia Desk Editor for Cryptonews.com, where he leads a diverse team of international reporters. Jai has over five years of experience covering the web3 industry.

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September 27, 2023 14:40 EDT

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Beosin EagleEye platform, a subsidiary of Beosin, a blockchain security audit company, revealed in a research report that Web3 lost approximately $890 million to various security breaches, phishing scams, and rug pulls in the third quarter of 2023. 

Breaking down the losses, it was revealed that 43 separate hacker attacks led to a cumulative loss of around $540 million, while phishing scams resulted in an approximate loss of $66.15 million. 

Additionally, 81 incidents of rug pulls within projects led to a total loss of approximately $280 million.

DeFi Accounted for 67.4% of all Incidents

DeFi, or Decentralized Finance, remained the most frequently targeted sector, accounting for 67.4% of all incidents with 29 attacks reported. 

Amongst the various project types, public chains experienced the most substantial losses, with Ethereum alone accounting for $227 million. 

Ethereum also took the unfortunate lead in security incidents, tallying up 16 during the quarter.

Examining attack methods, it was found that private key leaks were the most costly, causing losses of $223 million. 

Notably, a significant portion of the stolen funds, approximately $360 million, remained within the control of the hackers, representing a worrying 67% of the total.

10% of Stolen Funds Were Retrieved in Q3 2023

Efforts to recover stolen assets yielded limited success, with only 10% of the stolen funds retrieved during the quarter.

The audit landscape revealed that both audited and unaudited projects bore the brunt of these security incidents almost equally, with audited projects representing 48.8% and unaudited projects making up 46.5% of the affected cases.

While blockchain technology continues to revolutionize various industries, the persistent threat of cyberattacks and scams remains a critical concern.