Skynet Wrench Attacks Report

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In 2025, wrench attacks unfortunately crossed a critical threshold. What was once treated as an edge-case risk has become a structural threat to digital asset ownership. Attackers are no longer acting opportunistically; they are operating as organized, transnational groups that combine OSINT-driven targeting, social engineering, and extreme physical violence to extract private keys.

This report documents 72 verified physical coercion incidents worldwide, a 75% increase compared to 2024. Kidnapping remains the primary attack vector, while physical assaults rose by 250% year-on-year, highlighting a clear escalation in brutality.

Europe emerged as the most dangerous region, accounting for over 40% of global incidents. France alone recorded the highest number of attacks worldwide, surpassing the United States. Confirmed financial losses due to wrench attacks exceeded $40.9 million, up 44% from 2024 (though this figure significantly understates the true impact due to under-reporting, silent settlements, and untraceable ransoms).

Beyond direct losses, the psychological and reputational fallout is reshaping behavior across the industry, pushing founders and high-net-worth individuals toward operational anonymity and geographical relocation. 2025 marks a clear inflection point: physical violence is now a core threat vector in the crypto ecosystem.

Effective protection of your crypto assets now requires a layered approach that treats personal safety, operational privacy, and geographic exposure as part of the threat model. This includes separating identity from asset control, using robust key-management and multisig strategies, and planning for physical security in the same way institutions plan for cyber risk.

In the Skynet Wrench Attacks Report, we discuss the following topics and more:

• The definition and historical context of wrench attacks.
• Different types of wrench attacks, including armed robbery, blackmail, extortion, home invasion, kidnapping, murder, physical assault, ransom, robbery, and torture.
• The demographics criminals typically target for these types of attacks, based on calculated risk-reward analyses.
• Global statistics of wrench attacks in both 2024 and 2025, illustrating that this type of violence is on the rise in Europe.
• The most notable cases of wrench attacks, including David Balland and his wife (France), Danylo Kuzmin (Austria), and Roman and Anna Novak (UAE).
• Trends in attacker profiles and modus operandi.
• The financial impact of wrench attacks, such as total financial losses, ecosystem-wide effects, and psychological effects.
• Mitigation strategies and red flags that cryptocurrency users can look for to better protect themselves against wrench attacks.

Key Statistics: 2025 Wrench Attack Data

Read the full report to explore the data, regional breakdowns, attack methodologies, and implications for personal and organizational security.

FAQs

What is a "wrench attack" in crypto security?

A wrench attack is a physical coercion event where criminals use violence or confinement to force victims to surrender private keys.

How much was lost to crypto wrench attacks in 2025?

As detailed in our report, confirmed financial losses exceeded $40.9 million in 2025, a 44% year-over-year increase.

Which region had the most crypto wrench attacks in 2025?

According to our latest findings, Europe was the most dangerous region, accounting for over 40% of global incidents.

Why did wrench attacks increase in 2025?

CertiK’s report details that attacks increased by 75% due to organized transnational groups using OSINT-driven targeting.