Web3 Security Yearbook 2025: How Attackers Precisely Hunt High-Value Targets Behind $3.35 Billion in Losses

[Chain News] The security situation of Web3 is becoming severe. According to the annual security report, the entire ecosystem is expected to suffer losses of $3.35 billion by 2025, with over 700 various security incidents behind this figure.

The most heartbreaking data is as follows: each successful attack allows hackers to earn an average of $5.32 million—an increase of 66.64% compared to the previous year. What does this indicate? Attackers are becoming more professional and targeted. They no longer cast a wide net, but rather concentrate their efforts on high-value targets.

But this is not the whole truth. While the average loss is increasing, the median has instead dropped by 35.75%, down to $104,000. This reflects a phenomenon: small-scale attacks are occurring frequently, but large-scale events have decreased, and when they do occur, they are particularly devastating.

From a time dimension perspective, February can be called a disaster month - a certain exchange's turmoil led to a monthly loss of 1.537 billion USD, nearly accounting for half of the total annual loss. This also illustrates the significant ripple effect that a single major event can cause.

Divided by attack methods:

• Supply chain attacks are the most costly, resulting in $1.45 billion in direct losses. Attackers target the source, causing the widest range of harm.
• Phishing attacks are the most frequent, with a total of 248 incidents throughout the year. Although the average loss per incident is relatively small (approximately $723 million), the number of incidents is substantial.

In terms of ecology, Ethereum is at the forefront, experiencing 310 attack incidents with losses reaching 1.698 billion USD. As the largest smart contract platform, it is both a hub of innovation and a target of concentrated hacker fire.

Why are these attacks successful? There are three core reasons: private key management vulnerabilities, authentication flaws, and improper access control. These are not new issues, but hackers are systematically exploiting these weaknesses in the infrastructure. The macroeconomic recovery and influx of funds due to favorable policies have provided attackers with more targets.

For those of us operating on exchanges, the lesson is clear: no matter how hot the market is, safety awareness is always the top priority.