Chainalysis: Increase in exchange attacks but reduced stolen crypto funds

• The Chainalysis report considered only exchange attacks, including hacks against technical vulnerabilities, deceptive attacks, etc.
• The report noted that despite the increase in exchange attacks, the drop in stolen funds shows the advances in exchange security.

According to a Chinalysis report, there has been a rise in the number of exchange hacks in 2019. However, in comparison to previous years, less crypto has been stolen. The report only includes exchange attacks, without taking wallet providers, payment processors, etc. into consideration. 

Chainalysis included hacks against technical vulnerabilities, deceptive attacks (like social engineering) and attacks that they confirmed and measured in value. The report also included hacks from private sources, just as long as they didn’t skew the data. 

Out of the total 11 hacks, the $105 million stolen from Coinbene was the most profitable for the hackers. The average value per attack ($26 million) shows a significant drop from the year before ($146 million in 2018). Only a little over half broke the $10 million mark. Chainalysis has noted that despite the increase in exchange attacks, the drop in stolen funds shows the advances in exchange security.

The majority of the stolen crypto funds go through other exchanges. As per Chinalysis, these funds are later converted into cash, but a significant chunk of this cash tends to stay idle. This gives law enforcement a chance to trace the hackers.