Recent data from DefiLlama indicates that cryptocurrency hacks have resulted in losses exceeding $7.7 billion as of April 1. Despite a decrease in incidents during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year, experts are stressing the importance of enhancing security measures within the digital asset industry.

Decentralized finance protocols have been hit the hardest since 2016, losing a total of $5.8 billion to hackers. Among the various methods employed, bridges that facilitate asset transfers between blockchains have been especially vulnerable, contributing to over half of all defi hacks. Exploiters have capitalized on smart contract vulnerabilities to siphon off $2.8 billion through attacks on these platforms.

According to DefiLlama, common techniques used in crypto hacks include private key compromises, access control exploits, proof verifier bugs, signature exploits, and flash loan price oracle attacks. However, despite these insights, 42% of all hacking incidents remain unexplained, leaving a gap in understanding how nearly half of all hacks were orchestrated.

The first reported crypto hack occurred on "The DAO" in June 2016, a venture capital funding decentralized autonomous organization that lost around $60 million due to a reentrancy bug allowing multiple withdrawals in a single transaction. Additionally, Axie Infinity's Ronin bridge experienced a massive hack of over $600 million linked to Lazarus, a cybercriminal group from North Korea. This event stands as the largest single-protocol exploit in crypto history.

While security vulnerabilities persist in the cryptocurrency industry, there is optimism that with continued growth and enhanced collaboration between stakeholders, measures can be put in place to mitigate risks posed by malicious actors.