November has been a challenging month for cryptocurrency security, with significant losses amounting to $173 million, primarily driven by two major incidents. The recent hack of the Poloniex exchange contributed to a significant portion of these losses, with cyber-criminals siphoning off over $114 million from the platform's "hot wallets."
CertiK reported that this month's losses rank as the fourth-highest in 2023, largely due to these incidents, making up 91% of the total losses. Additionally, a phishing scheme also contributed to losses of around $27 million.
Comparatively, October saw lower losses from hacks, frauds, and exploits, amounting to approximately $32.2 million. However, the ongoing challenges with security breaches and illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space continue to pose significant risks.
Furthermore, the landscape of illicit cryptocurrency activities has extended to over $7 billion in laundered funds, with entities like North Korea's Lazarus Group reportedly linked to the theft of around $900 million between July 2022 and July of this year. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs), cross-chain bridges, and coin swap services have been implicated in processing these illicit funds, showcasing the breadth of challenges facing the crypto security landscape.
(With Agency Inputs)
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