Traditional Audits Leave Gaps in Crypto’s Defenses Against Hackers

The crypto industry has long treated smart-contract code audits as a primary line of defense. Oak Security says, however, that hackers have shifted their focus to operational weaknesses involving private keys, governance processes, insiders and malicious software dependencies. Traditional audits examine code only within a defined scope and at a specific point in time. They offer limited protection against phishing or compromises of off-chain infrastructure, meaning security seals can create a false sense of safety.

Oak Security Managing Director Stefan Beyer told CoinDesk on June 17, 2026, that North Korea’s Lazarus Group had stolen more than $2.2 billion since 2022. Over the same period, the volume of industry code audits tripled, yet neither the number of incidents nor the amount stolen declined significantly. Research shows that most successful attacks target people, underscoring calls for multilayered defenses that include key management, real-time monitoring and circuit breakers.