Crypto hack theft reached record high in 2022

CNN reports that cryptocurrency hacking theft totaled $3.8 billion in 2022, the highest on record and an increase from the $3.3 billion stolen in 2021, despite a more than 60% decline in the cryptocurrency market. North Korean hackers accounted for most of the crypto heists, having stolen $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency last year, compared with $429 million in 2021, according to a Chainalysis report. "North Korea's total exports in 2020 totaled $142 million worth of goods, so it isn't a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a sizable chunk of the nations economy," said Chainalysis. The findings also showed that most of the cryptocurrency stolen last year was from decentralized finance protocols, most of which were cross-chain bridge protocols. However, expanded law enforcement and national security agency efforts against cybercriminals and money laundering methods could discourage threat actors from conducting cryptocurrency theft operations, said Chainalysis.