Analysis of the Global Blockchain Ecosystem Security Status in the Third Quarter of 2022

The blockchain industry once again faced severe security challenges in the third quarter of 2022. According to statistics, there were more than 37 major security incidents this quarter, resulting in total losses of approximately $400 million. Although this figure represents a decline compared to the previous quarter, it still reflects the serious security challenges that the blockchain ecosystem continues to face.

Among all security incidents, cross-chain bridges and decentralized finance ( DeFi ) projects have become the main targets of hacker attacks, accounting for 92% of the loss amount. This phenomenon highlights the vulnerabilities in security protection of these two types of projects, which urgently need to be strengthened.

From the perspective of the affected Blockchain networks, the losses suffered by Ethereum are the most severe, amounting to $374.28 million. This data once again confirms Ethereum's status as a mainstream public chain, while also exposing potential security risks within its ecosystem.

Analyzing the specific causes of security incidents, it was found that contract vulnerabilities exploitation and private key leakage are the two main factors leading to losses, accounting for 92% of the total loss amount. This indicates that the security of smart contracts and private key management are still areas that blockchain projects need to focus on.

It is worth noting that among all the stolen funds, approximately 240 million USD flowed into mixing services such as Tornado Cash. This phenomenon reflects the increasingly obvious trend of hackers using mixing technology to evade tracking, posing new challenges for law enforcement agencies in their investigation efforts.

What is more concerning is that among the projects that were attacked, only 40% underwent professional security audits. This data indicates that most projects did not adequately prioritize security issues before going live, providing attackers with an opportunity.

Overall, the blockchain security situation in the third quarter of 2022 has somewhat eased, but it is still not optimistic. Project parties need to pay more attention to security audits, strengthen private key management, and continuously optimize smart contract code. At the same time, all parties in the industry should work together to build a more secure and reliable blockchain ecosystem.