# Over 2023, DeFi protocols have lost $1.4B through hacks

By [Alex Obchakevich](https://paragraph.com/@obchakevich) · 2024-01-17

---

The most popular hacking technique was Private Key Compromise, this technique accounted for 15 hacks totaling more than $583M. That's 42% of the total amount of hacks for 2023.

The data was compiled by me based on open statistics from:

[https://defillama.com/hacks](https://defillama.com/hacks)

Private Key Compromise:

[Poloniex hacks](https://twitter.com/peckshield/status/1722931275764474329) - $126m

[Multichain](https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1677106407131475968?t=VKQSi0VcSbv_Jgi8Q58SqQ&s=19) - $126m

[Atomic Wallet](https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1668778031790587905?t=ZXAVt7ExhHZcGIzs5ZD33w&s=19) - $100m

[Heco Bridge](https://twitter.com/TheBlock__/status/1727397707843621201) - $86.6m

CoinEx - $55m

and a few small ones

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/061b00f1c36fb1e68e13f5e7ea7f4744d31a66c869d1f9eed6b121d3c60fbb78.jpg)

That's a significant amount of money lost to DeFi hacks in 2023, and the prevalence of private key compromise as the main technique is concerning. It highlights the importance of robust security practices for both individual users and DeFi protocols.

---

*Originally published on [Alex Obchakevich](https://paragraph.com/@obchakevich/over-2023-defi-protocols-have-lost-1-4b-through-hacks)*