Theft of crypto currency likely to keep rising in 2025

One of the things that is all but certain in the coming year is that more Americans will be investing in cryptocurrency. The incoming administration has been signaling its support for making the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet and the bitcoin superpower of the world.”

Not everyone necessarily agrees with that idea, but there are clearly more people willing to buy bitcoins. The trouble is that the crypto wallets that hold these bitcoins have become major targets for cybercriminals, especially cyber syndicates that are allegedly acting on behalf of North Korea.

In fact, a report from Chainalysis notes North Korean state-sponsored threat actors this year stole $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency this year, more than half of all the crypto stolen. Compromises of private keys accounted for 43.8% of stolen cryptocurrency, according to Chainalysis.

The North Koreans are targeting cryptocurrencies to help boost a floundering economy, but it’s certain that other entities will copy their playbook.

The value of a bitcoin will, of course, fluctuate. As of this week, the value of single bitcoin is roughly $95,000. As most cybersecurity professionals already well know, the greater the value of a bitcoin, the more likely it is there will be an increase in the volume of cyberattacks. The thing that is changing now is the holders of bitcoins themselves are increasingly becoming a favorite target.

Historically, those attacks focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, but now centralized services such as DMM Bitcoin are being targeted as well. DeFi platforms still accounted for the largest share of stolen assets in the first quarter of 2024, but centralized services became the most targeted in the second and third quarters, according to Chainalysis.

It’s not clear what more needs to be done to protect bitcoins. Regardless of how legitimate bitcoins may or may not be, individuals and companies that invest in them still need to be protected. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies around the world are getting better at tracking cryptocurrency movement in a way that makes it possible to recover stolen bitcoins. The challenge is that recovering them is a complex process that typically requires hiring a lawyer that has the required expertise. An organization may have the financial resources needed to contract that expertise, but many individuals are going to discover they will need to reach deep into their own pockets to pay for a lawyer before they might recover their stolen bitcoin. If, for example, a stolen bitcoin is valued at $96,000, a lawyer might months later cost thousands of dollars to recover it.

It’s also important to remember that not every organization that bills itself as a specialist in recovering stolen bitcoin is legitimate. The FBI earlier this year seized what it described as three fraudulent crypto recovery services.

Many cybersecurity professionals may not be especially sympathetic to the plight of any individual or organizations that becomes a victim of cryptocurrency theft. After all, if it wasn’t for the existence of cryptocurrencies, many cybercriminals would not be able to convert their ill-gotten gains into more widely recognized legal tender. Like it or not, however, cybercriminal behavior in all its forms needs to be deterred no matter how much the assets being stolen are part of a larger problem.