The FBI has cautioned investors about the increased incidents of thefts in exploits related to decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts. The US agency tweeted that cybercriminals were increasingly targeting DeFi platforms to steal cryptocurrency.
It urged victims to contact the nearest FBI field office or IC3. In a public announcement, the FBI said that cybercriminals want to take advantage of investors’ increased interest in cryptocurrencies and the complexity of cross-chain functionality, and the open-source nature of the DeFi platforms. It advised investors to conduct more intensive research on cryptocurrency platforms, protocols, and smart contracts before investing in them.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations wants the investors to understand the risks associated. It told them to be alert to DeFi investment pools with extremely limited timeframes to join and rapid deployment of smart contracts without the recommended code audit. The FBI suggested that DeFi platforms use real-time analytics, monitoring, and more rigorous testing of code to identify potential vulnerabilities and suspicious activity on the decentralized platforms.
The Ethereum Foundation said exploits on DeFi platforms are dangerous. It noted that smart contract codes cannot be changed to cover up security flaws. The Foundation outlined that assets stolen from smart contracts are irrecoverable and stolen assets are very difficult to track. Elliptic, a blockchain analysis firm, published the NFTs and Financial Crime report last week. It revealed that over $100 million in non-fungible tokens were stolen between July 2021 and July 2022.
