Two “prominent professional hacking groups” are responsible for the majority of publicly reported hacks of cryptocurrency exchanges and other cryptocurrency organizations, concludes a report published by blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis this week. According to the report, simply called the Crypto Crime Report, the groups generated around $1 billion of hacking revenues for themselves so far.“Hacking dwarfs all other forms of crypto crime, and it is dominated by two prominent, professional hacking groups,” the report states. “Together, these two groups are responsible for stealing around $1 billion to date, at least 60% of all publicly reported hacks.”HacksExchanges, wallet providers and other custodial services have been prime targets for cybercriminals for years. From the MyBicoin theft and Bitcoinica hacks in Bitcoin’s early days, to the infamous Mt. Gox collapse due to stolen funds and the Bitstamp and Bitfinex hacks more recently, to the Cryptopia theft just several weeks ago, hacks and thefts are a recurring theme in the cryptocurrency space.Now, Chainalysis’ report suggests that many of the same people may be responsible for most of these kinds of hacks. By tracing the movement of funds on from hack to exit point (the exchange where funds were ultimately converted into fiat currency), Chainalysis believes it has been able to pinpoint two prominent hacking groups. Dubbed “Alpha” and “Beta”...
