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The third quarter of 2023 has been the \u201cmost financially damaging\u201d quarter of the year, with almost $700 million in digital assets lost to various security incidents, according to the quarterly report of blockchain security firm CertiK.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within the report, CertiK highlighted 184 security incidents in July, August and September 2023, with over $699 million in crypto assets lost in the quarter, surpassing first-quarter losses of $320 million<\/a> and second-quarter losses of $313 million. <\/p>\n Among the exploits that led to the losses, private key compromises have been listed as the most damaging, taking over $204 million across 14 incidents. According to the report, the Multichain incident \u2014 where private keys were under the exclusive control of the project\u2019s CEO \u2014 led to a loss of $125 million. The incident highlighted that centralized control of private keys for businesses could lead to a vulnerability, which, in Multichain\u2019s case, led to a ceasing of its operations<\/a>. <\/p>\n Aside from private key exploits, exit scams and oracle manipulation have also been prevalent in the quarter. The report highlighted that there were a total of 93 exit scam incidents in the quarter, taking more than $55 million in digital assets. Meanwhile, 38 oracle manipulation incidents took over $16 million in crypto.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Exploits, hacks and scams stole almost $1B in 2023: Report<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n When it comes to crypto hacks, the exploit of the cross-chain protocol Mixin Network contributed the most to making September the biggest month for crypto exploits<\/a> in 2023. On Sept. 25, Mixin Network suspended all withdrawals<\/a> and deposits after the incident. The company later confirmed that $200 million worth of assets were drained from its mainnet.<\/p>\n CertiK\u2019s quarterly report also highlighted that North Korea\u2019s state-affiliated hacking group Lazarus was still a \u201cdominant threat actor\u201d<\/a> in the quarter. The report noted that the group was responsible for at least $291 million in confirmed losses in 2023 and continued its activities in the third quarter. <\/p>\n