Jess Symington, research lead at Elliptic, a blockchain forensics company, discusses the massive upswing in DeFi hacks during 2021, resulting in over $10 billion of DeFi value lost. Show topics:

the state of crime in DeFi
how much value has been lost to exploits
whether the majority of hacks are the result of user or developer error
the various types of exploits
how to confirm when a project did, in fact, rug pull
which blockchains are most susceptible to having exploits
what has been happening recently in ransomware
how DeFi hackers cash out
why ransomware attackers, who usually request payment in Bitcoin, have a tougher time cashing out than DeFi hackers
whether hackers trend towards a specific profile/demographics
how easy it is for law enforcement to find hackers
whether blockchain’s transparency is proving to be a helpful tool for regulators
Jess’s advice on how to prevent hacks for both protocols and users

Thank you to our sponsors!

Avado: ava.do

Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unconfirmedcardearnfeb2021

Nodle: https://bit.ly/3AXGydJ

Episode Links

Elliptic

Website: https://www.elliptic.co/
Blog: https://www.elliptic.co/blog

Hack Coverage

Elliptic Research
- DeFi: Risk, Regulation and the Rise of DeCrime: https://www.elliptic.co/resources/defi-risk-regulation-and-the-rise-of-decrime
- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/14/common-defi-crypto-related-scams-and-how-to-protect-your-wallet.html
- https://cryptobriefing.com/elliptic-estimates-12b-lost-to-defi-exploits/
Rekt Leaderboard (giving a dollar figure for recent hacks along with a summary of what happened)
- https://rekt.news/leaderboard/

Unchained Podcast on Ransomware

https://unchainedpodcast.com/how-ransomware-evolved-into-a-big-business/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Timcast IRL #125 - Trump SLAMS Kenosha Riots As Domestic Terror Amid Tour Of City, Elijah Schaffer Joins