In early 2023, the cryptocurrency industry has been characterized by unexpected price pumps and mounting regulatory pressure, yet it’s been a fairly quiet time for the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. DeFi, which usually suffers from a near-constant barrage of hacks, scams, and rug pulls, has flown largely under the radar while the likes of Binance and Kraken have faced off repeatedly with the SEC. Centralized crypto platforms are feeling the heat from regulators who seem keen to appear tough after last year’s spectacular downfalls of Celsius, FTX, and its disgraced former-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. However, just because things in that particular part of the cryptosphere appear quieter, doesn’t mean that DeFi hasn’t had its fair share of drama. Last week’s messy hack of Platypus Finance saw $8.5 million drained from the project. However, the amateur attacker managed to get some of the funds stuck in their own smart contract, frozen by Tether, and accidentally sent some profit to lending protocol Aave (currently discussing the return of funds). The hacker’s address was also quickly linked to various social media accounts by on-chain investigator ZachXBT. Shortly after, a further $2.4 million was recovered via a reverse-hack, conducted by security firm BlockSec.
Full story : DeFi hackers are making bank this year — it’s February.
To keep you abreast with the Web3 hacks and security breaches, OODA has been compiling a comprehensive Web3 incident database based on our research to categorize what compromises are taking place as well as document the root causes that plague Cryptos, DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 in general. Tracking root causes provides comprehensive insights into how innovators can create robust cyber risk management approaches and reduce the potential for consequential attacks. You can access the OODA comprehensive Crypto Incident tracker here.
