Web3 Security 2023 State Revealed, Approximately $2 Billion Lost

By 2023, a significant number of security incidents have been witnessed in Web3 environments. According to the CertiK report, 751 security incidents resulted in a total loss of $1.84 billion, a 51% decrease from the $3.7 billion loss in 2022. Despite this decline, the scale of these incidents remains alarming, with only the 10 most costly incidents counted. It suffered a loss of $1.11 billion. The median loss per incident was $101,132, well below the average loss of $2.45 million per incident. This indicates significant differences in the impact of individual events.

Most vulnerable chains and attack vectors

The BNB chain experienced the most security incidents with 387 hacks, frauds, and exploits, resulting in losses of $134 million. Ethereum, despite the small number of accidents (224), it suffered a total financial loss of $686 million. Surprisingly, private key compromise emerged as the most costly attack vector, accounting for almost half of total monetary losses ($880,892,924) in just 47 incidents. This highlights serious vulnerabilities related to private key security in the Web3 space.

Trend and development analysis

CertiK’s report goes beyond the raw data and provides an in-depth analysis of how these breaches affected the broader Web3 ecosystem. The report includes an exploration of new developments such as hackers’ sophisticated negotiation tactics and the ongoing quest for institutional adoption in the blockchain space. These insights are essential for stakeholders including blockchain developers, cryptocurrency investors, policymakers, and digital currency enthusiasts to understand and navigate the complexities of this rapidly evolving industry.​​

Key highlights and insights

The third quarter of 2023 saw the largest financial losses, amounting to $686,558,472, due to 183 incidents. The report also highlights ongoing issues with cross-chain interoperability, with security breaches affecting multiple chains resulting in $799 million in losses in just 35 incidents. Additionally, the report provides a clear picture of the evolution of Web3’s institutional adoption landscape by delving into important incidents such as “retroactive bug bounty” negotiations and major hardware wallet backend compromises.

conclusion

“Hack3d: Web3 Security Report 2023” is an indispensable resource for anyone invested in the world of Web3. This report not only summarizes significant security incidents from the past year, but also provides forward-looking forecasts and insights to help stakeholders prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead. This comprehensive analysis is important for understanding the current state of Web3 security and where it is headed.

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