Approximately $1.7 billion in crypto was lost due to the theft of private keys in 2024. In its annual Web3 Security Report , Hacken, a reputable cybersecurity firm, emphasized that private key theft continues to be the most critical threat for crypto investors worldwide. Private Keys Continue To Be Targeted According to Hacken, smart contract exploits are significantly less frequent compared to the theft of private keys. In 2024, access control vulnerabilities, which are closely related to private key compromises, accounted for most crypto hacking-related losses. This represents nearly $1.7 billion lost this year. By comparison, smart contract vulnerabilities contributed just 14% of total losses in 2024, highlighting the dominant risk posed by unauthorized access and private key theft. Private keys are alphanumeric strings generated by crypto wallets, used to authorize transactions and verify ownership. They play a crucial role in encrypting data and safeguarding assets against theft. Main Reasons For Theft Hacken also outlined four key reasons why private keys are often stolen, namely the use of insecure management platforms, falling victim to social engineering attacks, improper data backups, and weaknesses in single-signature crypto wallet schemes. According to the firm, the largest exploit of 2024 involved the hack of the centralized Indian crypto exchange WazirX , where over $230 million worth of digital assets were stolen. Despite having a robust multi-party security system in place, the exchange experienced a breach due to unauthorized fund transfers through its wallets.
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