Hackers have stolen $1.4 billion worth of crypto this year alone according to research by Chainalysis which found that from January 2022 to the present, thieves had stolen digital assets in the aforementioned amount. The favored approach appears to have been to target cryptocurrency bridges.

Such assaults in 2022 include the $615 million Ronin attack, the Horizon bridge exploit, the $190 million Nomad Bridge breach, and one of the biggest attacks in the history of cryptocurrency.

The final estimate in the research is that hackers have stolen $1.4 billion worth of crypto this year alone.

Crypto Bridges Are A Favorite Target For Cybercriminals

It is reasonable to state that during the past several years, the digital asset business has become more and more well-known. Additionally, the bull market of 2021 produced a favorable business and investment environment. On the other hand, it also attracted criminals.

Since the start of the year, hackers have stolen around $1.4 billion in digital currencies, according to the blockchain analytics tool Chainalysis. Their chosen aim appears to be cryptocurrency bridges, a category of software that links several networks and enables instant token exchanges.

“Blockchain bridges have become the low-hanging fruit for cyber-criminals, with billions of dollars worth of crypto assets locked within them. Hackers have breached these bridges in various ways, suggesting that their level of security has not kept pace with the value of assets that they hold,” Tom Robinson – Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Elliptic – stated.

At the beginning of the year, Qubit Finance, a Binance Smart Chain-based protocol, and Solana’s bridge Wormhole were two of the more notorious cases. The first was attacked for $80 million, while the second was taken advantage of for around $320 million.

Criminals broke into Ronin Bridge in March and stole approximately $588 million worth of ETH and $25.5 million in USDC in one of the largest crypto breaches ever. Despite the massive onslaught, Sky Mavis’ crew (the sidechain’s operator) compensated all impacted people. At the end of June, Ronin Bridge reopened after addressing the significant problems.

Who Was Responsible For The Ronin Attack?

Following the hack on Ronin Bridge, several organizations started an inquiry to determine who was to blame. The Lazarus Group, an infamous North Korean cell, was identified as the assailants by one of these organizations, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to some estimates, the gang is tightly connected to the North Korean government, and the cryptocurrency assets it steals might be used to support Kim Jong-Un’s rule in the East Asian country.

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