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[TECHNOLOGY] · North Korea · 5 sources

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Part of situation: 2026 crypto hack surge (H1-H2) (13 clusters)

Crypto platforms lose $3.6 billion to hacks despite security audits

cryptocurrency hacks cybersecurity audits blockchain theft digital asset security North Korean cyberattacks

Cryptocurrency platforms lost more than $3.6 billion to cyberattacks and stolen credentials between January 2025 and July 2026, according to a report by CoinGecko. The findings highlight a significant gap in current security measures, as approximately 88% of the stolen funds originated from platforms that had completed independent security audits, and about 60% of the affected platforms had undergone such vetting.

The largest single incident involved Bybit, which suffered a $1.4 billion theft in February 2025; blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic attributed this attack to North Korea. Other major losses included a $320 million hack on the Liquid Network blockchain, $292 million lost by KelpDAO, and $285 million lost by Drift Protocol.

Experts noted that standard audits often fail to cover the full spectrum of risk, such as external infrastructure vulnerabilities, unaudited code updates, or systemic features manipulated through governance attacks. Only about 11% of the documented incidents involved flaws within the specific scope of smart contract audits.

Entities

Bybit · CoinGecko · Drift Protocol · Elliptic · KelpDAO · Liquid Network

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Sources

Crypto Platforms Lose $3. 6 Billion to Hacks Despite Security Audits [retailwit.com]
3 days ago
Un an greu pentru platformele cripto. Pierderi de peste 3,6 miliarde de dolari în urma atacurilor cibernetice [adevarul.ro]
3 days ago
Platformele cripto au pierdut peste 3,6 miliarde de dolari în urma atacurilor cibernetice [www.stiripesurse.ro]
3 days ago
Crypto Platforms Lose $3. 6 Billion to Hacks Despite Widespread Security Audits [www.tekedia.com]
2 days ago
Crypto Platforms Lose $3. 6 Billion to Hacks Despite Security Audits [www.pymnts.com]
3 days ago