The world of cryptocurrency offers great opportunities for investors and practitioners business. However, behind these benefits, there are very high security risks. Over the past few years, the crypto world has been rocked by various cases conceded which causes losses in fantastic amounts. Some of them even make investors and companies lose billions of dollars in an instant. Here are 5 cases of crypto breaches that rocked the world and are important to know!
1. Mt. Gox (2014)
The case of Mt. Gox became one of the biggest and most horrendous crypto breach events. In 2014, the largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, Mt. Gox, suffered a cyber attack that resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC, equivalent to billions of dollars. This breach occurred due to a security gap that hackers exploited for several years without being detected. As a result, Mt. Gox eventually filed for bankruptcy, leaving investors in confusion and huge losses.
2. Coincheck (2018)
In 2018, Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck was the victim of a hack that resulted in the loss of around 530 million dollars worth of NEM. This hack occurred because the NEM coins owned by Coincheck were stored in hot wallets, which are more vulnerable to cyberattacks. The hackers managed to break into the system security Coincheck and transfer the NEM coins without being traced.
3. Binance (2019)
Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, also experienced a breach in 2019. In this attack, hackers managed to steal 7,000 BTC which was then worth around 40 million dollars. Hackers use a combination of methods, including phishing and virus, to gain access to API keys, 2FA codes, and other user information. Fortunately, Binance has an insurance fund to cover user losses.
4. KuCoin (2020)
In September 2020, crypto exchange KuCoin was the target of an attack that resulted in the loss of over 280 million dollars worth of crypto assets. Hackers managed to gain access to KuCoin's digital wallet private keys and stole various assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other ERC-20 tokens. Luckily, KuCoin was able to recover most of the stolen assets thanks to cooperation with various blockchain projects.
5. Poly Network (2021)
The Poly Network breach case is one of the biggest in history crypto. In 2021, hackers managed to steal assets worth 600 million dollars with utilise Security flaws in the Poly Network smart contract system. Interestingly, this hacker ended up returning most of the stolen funds after communication intense work with the Poly Network team and pressure from the crypto community.
The breach cases above show how important security is in the crypto world. As a company focused on innovation and digital security, Thrive offers advanced and comprehensive crypto asset protection solutions. We understand the risks that threaten your crypto assets and are ready to help you implement appropriate security measures.
Contact us now to get further consultation on how Thrive can help you protect crypto assets from various cyber threats. With Thrive, you can invest and transact with peace of mind, without having to worry about the security of your digital assets.